BBC Two has announced the host and further details of its new TV talent show Bring the Drama this February 2024.
Bring the Drama is a new six-part series from BBC Arts and Wall to Wall Media for BBC Two and iPlayer which opens up the world of screen drama to eight people who have always dreamt of becoming professional actors but have never had the opportunity.
The show will be hosted by actor and comedian Bill Bailey, and the aspiring actors are mentored by renowned casting director Kelly Valentine Hendry (Bridgerton, Gangs of London, Ghosts, Broadchurch).
Each episode sees the actors welcomed onto real-life TV drama sets, including Peaky Blinders, EastEnders and Silent Witness, and tasked with working together to recreate iconic scenes with the real scripts, real cameras and the real time pressures that professional actors face.
As they gain experience in different forms of screen acting they are given advice and guidance from a host of established actors including Natalie Cassidy (EastEnders); Genesis Lynea (Silent Witness, Champion); Charles Venn (Casualty, Dream Team); Ed Speelers (Downton Abbey, You) and Rochenda Sandall (Line of Duty, The Rig), plus work with industry experts from the Peaky Blinders fight co-ordinator, to the intimacy co-ordinator from Sex Education.
At the end of the intense learning process, casting director Kelly selects three actors she feels are industry-ready to present their showreel at a major industry showcase for the chance to secure representation from a leading agent.
Bring the Drama Festival
Also, a Bring the Drama Festival will run alongside the TV series, providing a six week programme of careers events around the UK, showcasing behind-the-scenes jobs in the creative industries, including theatre.
Organisations involved in creating the festival include Cameron Mackintosh Limited, the National Theatre, the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, Arts Council England, National Youth Theatre, Screen Alliance North, Get Into Theatre, Into Film, Bristol Old Vic, ScreenSkills, the BFI, BAFTA, Screen Scotland, Northern Ireland Screen and Ffilm Cymru.
The Bring the Drama Festival will enable UK audiences to find an event showcasing everything from stage-managing to wig-making, lighting to line producing, set design to make-up design. The BBC is joining forces with some of the UK’s leading cultural organisations to create the first festival of its kind: bringing together stage and screen and opening up the doors to the next generation of behind-the-scenes talent.
The festival will feature hundreds of events with more than 100 partners from across the UK and features a range of activities including talks, tours, workshops, masterclasses, Q&As and meet the teams celebrating craft roles. Examples of the wide range of events include backstage tours at The Lyric Belfast throughout its production of Little Women; behind the scenes tours of Hamilton and Les Misérables with the Cameron Mackintosh Limited production teams; Bristol’s The Bottle Yard Studios running an marketplace event to showcase the vast range of careers across film, TV and theatre with a host of exhibitors; A Play, a Pie and a Pint in Glasgow opening their doors to showcase opportunities for craftspeople and stage managers amongst other craft roles; Northern Ireland Screen offering work experience opportunities across Northern Ireland; bespoke tours of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s many workshops in Stratford; and BBC Cardiff Central hosting tours of the Crimewatch and Sin Bin sets.
Other partners hosting and creating events include Sadlers Wells, the Royal Opera House, Into Film, The Curve theatre in Leicester, Liverpool Everyman, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Confetti Media in Nottingham and Whitechapel and BECTU in Glasgow.
To find events and participate, download the free ERIC app, with details of the festival uploaded from 1 February 2024.
The 8 aspiring actors in Bring the Drama
The eight actors featured in Bring the Drama were selected through an open casting call process, and selected from almost 2,000 amateur actors in the UK. They have been chosen for their raw talent, and none have been to drama school.
All eight will leave the show with a professionally shot showreel and follow up sessions with industry experts.
Host Bill Bailey said in a statement: “It has been a delight to work on Bring The Drama and witness first-hand how the actors have grown in confidence and skills over the weeks. What I particularly liked was the way it shows the whole process of making TV – being on an actual set, with a real crew to help you learn what it’s really like. It was great fun but also a brilliant insight into how casting works and a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of some of our most popular tv shows.”
Kelly Valentine-Hendry, casting director, said: “Historically it has been much easier to break into the industry if you come from a privileged background and the more we can do to change that, the better. This series is a brilliant way to emphasise and celebrate that great talent can come from anywhere. And above all, it’s a real insight into all the hard work that goes into bringing great drama to screen. It’s not easy – in fact, I think people will be surprised by how challenging it is!”
Suzy Klein, Head of Arts TV at the BBC, said: “We conceived Bring the Drama to shine a light on the fascinating world of being an actor – to show the expertise and skills needed to succeed and the challenges of breaking into such a fiercely competitive industry. Our acting cohort, like many people in the UK, have a real passion for drama but none of them have had the opportunity to go into the profession. With input from some of the UK’s leading drama schools, we developed a series that would really get under the bonnet of what it takes to become an actor, and were privileged to get onset with some of the country’s biggest TV dramas. To accompany the series, we have created the Bring the Drama Festival so that anyone who wants to get into the many offscreen roles in theatre, film and TV can find an event near them, to introduce them to the magical world of working in the creative industries. There is so much talent across Britain and making world-class movies, TV shows and theatre is one of our greatest global exports – working with more than 100 partner organisations, the Festival promises to lure in the next generation of brilliant creatives.”
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