Kate Phillips, the BBC’s content chief, has a message for reality TV snobs.
Phillips was at MIPCOM during a BBC Studios “Reality Check” session to talk up the power of reality TV and unscripted more broadly, with a call for more pitches from reality producers.
“For me reality is the hardest genre for us to get right, crack and execute” said Phillips. “It is not easy doing these shows. You have the whole duty of care to think about.”
In the past, Phillips said there have been naysayers who chide, “God forbid the BBC should do a reality show,” but more are now understanding the power of unscripted, which she described as “heartening.”
According to Phillips, there were around 6 billion hours of unscripted watched across the BBC last year, while 70% of the corporation’s content mix is now unscripted. She said big brands like The Traitors are causing a “halo effect.”
With big beasts like The Traitors and Strictly Come Dancing, BBC entertainment boss Ed Havard said he believes “we have the best ecosystem to back an unscripted show” at present, as he pointed to “our [flexible] rights deals and the sheer scale of what we can do.”
Next ‘Top Gear‘ presenter
Havard, one of the architects behind the BBC-NBC Traitors deal, also updated on the BBC’s Top Gear reboot, joking about how many presenter pitches he is getting at the moment.
“There are so many people who think they can present Top Gear who are emailing to say, ‘I could present Top Gear‘ with a reel,” he added. “I forward all the emails on to [producer] BBC Studios.”
Phillips and Havard were speaking at MIPCOM.