World Productions

[lip smacks] Um, but, um, yeah, I think Jed would be a g- just because he's got quite a good foundation and a good longstanding love of science fiction and that stuff, I think he'd be a really good fit for it, as well as Hat Trick.

Um, there's also been, um, World Productions.

They're the guys that make things like Line of Duty, that sort of thing.

Um, they have put, uh, an offer through.

And, uh, so the CEO of World Productions, Simon Heath, he recently, um, yeah, said he's got interest in that, so that's also going ahead as well.

And, um, uh, they're from, um, I think they do more work with ITV Studios, but they're not sort of exclusive to those guys.

But, um, yeah, that would also be an interesting one.

Mm-hmm.

Also, uh, linked, World Productions, who are the production company behind Line of Duty-

Mm-hmm

... also Vigil and Bodyguard.

This is just, like, insiders.

Yeah.

And somebody's gone, "Oh, I work at, you know, World Productions-

Mm

So, uh, we'll have to see with that, but they have actually apparently put in one bid.

The other bid, interestingly, is from World Productions, who are the company that actually made Line of Duty and Bodyguard f-

[laughs]

... with Jeff Mercurio, and they also are people behind things like Vigil, Showtrial, Karen Pierre.

There are other possibilities outside those in the BBC Studios subsidiaries.

My guess is it is probably one of those three, but we don't actually know which bids have come from BBC Studios.

And you've gotta think that the BBC would probably prefer to have it within the BBC, but it was an open bid, so they are taking bids from other people, hence Hat Trick Mercurio, World Productions, and STV Studios.

It's an interesting kind of different approach.

Okay? I'm not gonna spend any time talking about who Hat Trick are and what they produce, 'cause that would take another podcast.

But also, World Productions, who produce Line of Duty and Bodyguard, they're also bidding.

Their, um, Simon Heath, the CEO, had said in September, "We may go for it, we may not.

It's not decided yet.

The process hasn't been outlined yet to see what we'd have to go through." It appears that they have gone for it.

And Deadline has reported that sources say that World, World Productions, is effectively spearheading ITV Studios' efforts to land the contract.

So which, uh, the tantalizing possibility of Doctor Who being made by ITV, finally, after 40 years [laughs] of the original rumor.

There's also STV Studios that we know about.

Um, basically, his production company have thrown their hat into the ring with a bid with Jed attached as showrunner, which is really interesting.

The other ones that we have become aware of, other than the BBC ones, are, um, there's a group called, wait, wait, wait, World Productions.

We have learnt that World Productions have submitted, uh, a plan.

Um, we don't know what their plan is specifically.

Um, and then the other one of note, and I think this is probably the most interesting in terms of, like, what that would do to the production, is STV Studios, who are behind, you know, "Criminal Record" and "Blue Lights." They have got a pitch that involves

But yeah, so those are the-- So the, the BBC Studios, we know they submitted.

STV, bringing it to Scotland.

World Productions is the one we know the least about, and then of course, Hat Trick Mercurio, um, or HTM, uh, Je- uh, Jed Mercurio's, uh, company.

It's fine.

And also World Productions is in the mix too.

There's an expectation there's going to be two BBC Studios labels going to bid as well.

Interviews begin in January.

George Fenton did both the Planet Earth and Teleaddicts themes.

well it did it did make me look up that story about jackie wilson jockey wilson with dexys um and uh then i was reading a thing that actually it's an urban myth and apparently kevin roland said yeah don't do it'll be a joke put up jockey wilson i don't know if i believe

it certainly earlier when you were chatting in the in the news and brief you were talking about um world productions doing doctor who and i thought you said world of wonder who made drag race but i'm like drag race doctor who is amazing

Great option.

So he'll be there alongside Luke Evans, who is fronting a new ITV drama called The Party that's based on Elizabeth Day's book about two friends and a secret that threatens to blow up their present day when one of them is vying to become leader of the Conservative Party.

So he sort of championed that book from a very early stage, took it to World Productions, which are known for Line of Duty, Vigil, and then has sort of developed it with them to bring it to the screen.

So that's a five-parter that's launching here soon, and he'll be on the Quazette as well, alongside Stephen Moffat and Sue Virtue, writer and producer, husband and wife team from Hartswood Films, who have got their new political drama, Number 10. coming up soon so itv house their stand will be busy with celebrities next week and then just the only thing left to add is uh the drama quarterly magazine will be in can in it we've got a great feature if i do say so myself because i wrote it about time season three this is the third installment of jimmy mcgovern's award-winning powerful visceral quite shocking series set within prisons.

So you can read about that.