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Press Releases
91Èȱ¬ Wales announces new drama commissions
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91Èȱ¬ Wales today announces the commission of two
new home-grown drama series for audiences in Wales.
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Crash! and The Fabulous Baker Boys will have creative input from
Tony Jordan and Russell T Davies respectively and hit the
screens in primetime slots in 2009 and 2010.
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Piers Wenger, Head of Drama, 91Èȱ¬ Wales, says: "It's thrilling to be adding two such vibrant and contrasting
drama commissions to the Wales slate.
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"Both are extraordinary,
authored pieces and will add new dimensions to the range of work
on offer to writers, producers and directors in Wales."
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Crash! will be produced by Red Planet Pictures Wales and will be
written by a team of Welsh writers led by award-winning writer
Tony Jordan (EastEnders, Life On Mars, Hustle).
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The series will
follow a group of four young doctors as they embark on their
first jobs at Cardiff Metropolitan Hospital and the steepest
learning curves of their lives.
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In each episode, the friends will face new challenges and fresh
tests of nerve. They will make life-or-death decisions and
sometimes get things wrong.
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The demands on them are immense, but
they are young and resilient, and their lives aren't all about
work.
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The series is due to go in to pre-production in April next year
for broadcast in late 2009.
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Tony Jordan says: "As our first major commission from 91Èȱ¬ Wales, we are incredibly
excited about Crash!
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"It will give us the opportunity of working
with the most talented new and upcoming writers, actors and
directors in Wales.
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"This show has been developed in-house at Red
Planet Pictures specifically for 91Èȱ¬ Wales and we have created a
format that is contemporary and fresh, with the emphasis on
great characters and simple stories well told."
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The second commission will be made by 91Èȱ¬ Wales's in-house drama
department and is due for broadcast in 2010.
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The Fabulous Baker Boys is written by two of Wales' leading
writers – Helen Raynor, who has network credits including
Torchwood and Doctor Who, and award-winning playwright Gary Owen who has worked with the Royal National Theatre and the National
Theatre of Scotland, as well as community groups like Bridgend
Youth Theatre and the Prince's Trust.
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Russell T Davies will act
as creative consultant for the project.
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The Fabulous Baker Boys is a contemporary drama firmly rooted in
the reality of a small valleys town. When the local factory is
threatened with closure it strikes at the heart of the
community.
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The series will follow the challenges and triumphs of
the workers and their families as they battle against all the
odds to keep their factory going.
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Gary comments: "We're delighted to be working with the dedicated and brilliant
Drama team at 91Èȱ¬ Wales.
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"The Fabulous Baker Boys puts
contemporary Welsh life and characters centre-stage, and we're
thrilled to be writing something so close to our hearts."
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Helen Raynor adds:
"Being able to build on all the successes of recent years by
making a truly home-grown 'grass roots' drama is a real
privilege."
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Russell T Davies says:
"This is a brilliant and shining idea, and Welsh right down to
its bootstraps.
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"I'm delighted to be a small part of it, and
can't wait to see what the wonderful minds of Helen and Gary
have got in store."
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Clare Hudson, 91Èȱ¬ Wales Head of English Language Programmes,
adds:
"We are extremely pleased to be bringing more top class drama to
our viewers, using the extraordinary pool of talented writers,
producers and performers we have to hand in Wales.
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"It is
fantastic that, as a result of our network success, we can now
draw on the immense talents of Tony Jordan and Russell T Davies
to support new projects like these." Ìý
AF2
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