Zai Bennett on Sundays Points of View

BBC3 Controller Zai Bennett appeared on Sunday's edition of BBC One's viewer opinion programme Points of View to discuss the channel's most recent commissioning policies, of which the first question raised was about the cancellation of Doctor Who Confidential, the spin-off documentary series which goes behind the scenes of Doctor Who.

Kimberley Ritchie: Being a viewer of Doctor Who Confidential made me realise how much I wanted to go into TV production as a career. I've recently begun a course. I hope you take into account the efforts we're all putting in to try to save something we love.

Zai Bennett: Doctor Who Confidential was a brilliant series that we made six series of. It's a show about the making of another show - Doctor Who - and there are only so many ways explaining how a show is made, and in these straightened times when BBC3 is actually cutting its budget we have to prioritise the shows that we think are most important to our viewers. Doctor Who Confidential was a great show, but after six series we think that it had a very good go explaining how to make Doctor Who.

In response to reports that a Christmas edition of Doctor Who Confidential has been recorded, Bennett also added:

That's absolute nonsense, there is no finished programme sitting on a shelf. That show, however, was made for lots of different people, so for DVD and for BBC Worldwide, and there was some footage, which was about ten minutes, which will end up going online - but there's definitely not a finished show.

The lacklustre brush off of Doctor Who Confidential by Zai Bennett, the current BBC3 Controller probably came as no surprise to the shows fans.  Perhaps a few years down the line the programme may be revived for the parent programmes Fiftieth Anniversary.

Save Doctor Who Confidential Day - Trailer

Doctor Who Confidential - Inspiring Young Minds

@SaveDWC

 After yesterdays airing of possibly the last episode of Doctor Who Confidential, we caught up with the campaigner who wants to keep the series running strong and tells us why Doctor Who Confidential is such an inspirational show:

Firstly, how big has the SaveDWC Twitter account and the petition become since you started the campaign?

How big has SaveDWC got. Well, within the first 24 hours we had over 5,000 followers follow us which knocked me and many other people off their feet, it's grown to just over 7,000 Followers as of 13:17pm on October 1st which I think is really great. It's a MASSIVE day for DWC and the Campaign so we really hope as many more people can be made aware of the Campaign today and the more support the better.

How do you think this campaign will show that Doctor Who Confidential is a vital show for the BBC?

This Campaign will show that DWC is a vital show because as we say "Power to the people". What we are actually saying is "Power to the Viewer". Every person who signs the Petition and every person who follows on Twitter shows how many people disagree with the decision and in our view the biggest mistake you can make in TV is make an unpopular decision that goes against what your viewers want. At the end of the day, it's the viewer who make or break shows by tuning in.

How important do you think Doctor Who Confidential is to the 'Doctor Who world'?

Losing DWC in the "Doctor Who World" is actually more of a blow than you think. If you think about it, well, let's take for example, my family. They are not huge Doctor Who fans, but if they want to watch an episode and catch up on what the story is all about (i.e.) The River Song Story, then DWC really helps viewers like these out by keeping them up to scratch. Basically, it may end up that Doctor Who by itself may seem too confusing for casual viewers and they might eventually get fed up of it and switch off, which is very bad news. It may not happen next year, the notice in a drop, but certainly the year after that the loss of DWC will be felt in terms of viewing figures for Doctor Who alone. Oh, and one more think, Doctor Who celebrates it's Fiftieth Anniversary soon, a lot of viewers are really disappointed they won't get a Confidential for the Fiftieth. It's just sad news really.

How different is Doctor Who Confidential from any other programme?

Doctor Who Confidential is different from any other programme as it is a show about a TV show. But then it's so much more than that because it's educational and fun for the kids to watch. More importantly, it's inspiring to them. We've had a lot of people come to us and say it's inspired me to make a decision on what course I want to do at college because I didn't know what the world of television was like.

Discontinuing a show unique and as inspirational is a really sad thought. In last nights final episode it shows the DWC Script to Screen for the schools and I found it a little hard to watch because I just thought, these kids are having such a good time and they are learning about how an episode is made, why deny kids that? I would have loved to have been given that opportunity at that age.

What would our television screens be like without Doctor Who Confidential?

What would our TV Screens be like? Well, if you go on what BBC Three have lined up you can fill your boots with repeats of shows from BBC One. So, TV Screens will be very easy to turn off for me. If I want repeats, I go to BBC iPlayer.

What changes could be made to the show to ensure it's safety?

The changes that clearly need to be made is for DWC to stop wasting time filming the actors bouncing on trampolines and racing cars and swimming with sharks. There's no need for it to be 45 minutes long, cut it down to between 15-30 minutes and you'll not need to pad things out. I'd say concentrate on showing how the show is put together and the different challenges that face the team each episode.

Finally, how has Doctor Who Confidential inspired you?

Doctor Who Confidential inspired me to really fight for this show as it does so much for the kids really. That's the main reason we are campaigning here. I'm pretty sure there's not many kids that are very young who are on Twitter and perhaps if we had them know and join the campaign I think they would strongly agree the show needs to be saved. For their benefit more than just the "Whovian's" benefit.

We would like to thank the @SaveDWC Campaigner (Who would like to remain anonymous) for taking their time to answer these questions,

Remember to follow the campaign on Twitter: @SaveDWC

You Can also Sign the Petition To keep Doctor Who Confidential on the air Here. 

Special Twitter Session: Doctor Who Confidential Update

Tonights edition of Doctor Who Confidential will be shown on BBC3 at 8.35pm.

As you are probably aware this will be the last Confidential for a while, so to honour the series please join us for a Special Twitter Viewing Session Tonight.

The normal #DWBar hashtag will be temporarily replaced in Tonights session by #DWCBar.  So join us immediately after the debut of Doctor Who's sister series Merlin at 8.35pm to tweet your thoughts and memories of such a remarkable programme.  You can if you wish join us earlier at 7.50pm for The Wedding Party on Twitter when we'll be discussing the outcome of the finale as well, provided you don't mind tweeting when Merlin is still on!

I would like to give a very big thank you to the men and woman behind Doctor Who Confidential, the Production Team and to Russell Tovey for his narration.  See you all soon.

Save Doctor Who Confidential on Twitter

There is a new Twitter account called @SaveDWC which has been set up to help reverse the BBC's decision.

Please follow them if you want to show your support for them.

You can contact the BBC here, but please remember that it is the Governments fault, see the article below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/forms/  

You can also sign the petition, Which has over 14,00 signatures, here:

http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/savedwc 

News: Doctor Who Confidential axed by the BBC

The BBC is to axe Doctor Who Confidential, the behind the scenes documentary series, as part of the Corporation's ongoing curtailing of programmes.

Doctor Who Confidential, which features behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the hit sci-fi series Doctor Who, as well as interviews with the cast and crew, has aired in an early evening slot on BBC3 since 2005, usually just after when BBC1 has finished transmission of the current Doctor Who episode.

However, with the BBC facing budget cuts of up to 20% across its output as part of its Delivering Quality First initiative, the BBC3 Controller Zai Bennett has chosen to axe the show at the end of its current series.  It is not known if the decision is in any way related to the shows change in format for it's current series, but it is highly likely he feels the show is expendable.

Bennett is understood to be pursuing a strategy of focusing investment on original commissions in post-watershed time slots. Since taking over, he has decommissioned shows including Ideal, Hotter Than My Daughter, Coming of Age and the long-running sitcom Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.

Speaking last month at the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, Bennett said: "It's about focusing my budget on 9pm and 10.30pm; those are the time slots that count. Budgets are tight, so we have to be sensible with the money we have."

Mark Thompson, the BBC Director General, will unveil the Corporation's cost-cutting strategy – the outcome of the DQF process – on 6 October. It is thought to include proposals to exploit greater synergies between BBC1 and BBC3, with the digital channel acting as a nursery slope for its terrestrial cousin. BBC3 will also fill a greater proportion of its 7pm to 9pm slots with repeats of BBC1 shows.  These decisions come in the wake of the full digital switchover and cessation of the analogue transmissions next year.

A spokeswoman for the BBC said: "Doctor Who Confidential has been a great show for BBC3 over the years but our priority now is to build on original British commissions, unique to the channel."

It is not yet known what Steven Moffat the Executive Producer of Doctor Who, feels about the shows cancellation.