Riddled with self doubt

I've read bits of Ben Stephenson setting out his vision for BBC (tv) Drama earlier this week, and found it hard to take. The whole thing, just discovered, is even more indigestible.  Here are some nuggets of blah and brown-nosing.  If I were Lord Hall, I'd choose an office on another floor...

"2012 was the most successful year for BBC drama this century. A bold statement maybe, but thanks to all the people in this room and many who couldn’t make it, one I believe. So I wanted say thank you to everyone, as well as taking this opportunity to look forward to new horizons, new ambitions, and a BBC with an exciting new Director-General"

"Drama and the BBC are inseparable – it is written through the BBC like a stick of rock. No other broadcaster in the world has drama so firmly in its DNA. Knock down any BBC building and I firmly believe that what will be left in the ruins of a building is a writer writing a script".

"A couple of weeks ago I was lucky to be taken on a tour of the Royal Opera House by Lord Hall our new DG. I found both the space and my time in his company inspiring. We talked about the BBC as a cultural organisation with an international reputation, one to make us proud and that strengthens our creative muscles. When you go to the Royal Opera House or the National Theatre there is a buzz in the theatre before the curtain goes up. That buzz comes not just from what you are about to see but because the space, the history, the values of the place add up to something extraordinary. It’s that electric crackle of excitement that I want to create. I want to make BBC drama a cultural institution – a touchstone for quality and modernity with all the excitement and glamour of a curtain going up"

"I want audiences to feel that anticipation when they see our logo – when they hear there is a new BBC drama I want their expectations to be enormous and I want them to be tough if our ambition isn’t as huge as they demand. But crucially I want you – some of the best talent in the world - to feel genuinely excited about working for BBC drama. I hope the changes I have made to BBC drama in my 4 years in the job have helped – I think it feels more welcoming, broader, more driven by creative talent and crucially more fun. Of course we are a weighty institution with weighty – sometimes labyrinthine - processes, but as much as possible I want to bypass that and create a place that feels inspiringly creative – where there is a buzz of creativity and anything goes optimism. And that means setting our values out more clearly than ever, about articulating that we are the adventurous, gung ho market leader that the competition can only follow. It means continuing to foster the best possible culture we can inside and having the best team of staff in the country. I want to build a BBC drama department that has an enormous international reputation".

"As any of you who have heard me speak will know I tend to view the word international as a bit of a dirty word – it makes me think of euro puddings and pitches that have the budgets attached but no writers, it will probably also have a picture of a crown and sword on its laminated cover. At all costs we must protect our own British values - without that we having nothing to export - we are a cheaper imitation of Hollywood or a less Scandi version of Scandi. Why copy other countries when we can be the best at what only we can export?

"I want us to be international on our terms. That means making us more British than ever – rather than chasing naïve ambition to be a British HBO and chasing famous names, it is about applying the Danny Boyle vision to our work – a bold, adventurous, authorial approach that exports because of its Britishness not despite it. In Boyle’s vision of Britain, Mary Poppins sits alongside Brunel, Shakespeare alongside Bond.

"And so it should be at the BBC. And Britishness doesn’t mean we don't work with the best international talent. We should have open creative borders. But let me be clear, none of this talk of excellence is about being niche. I want packed houses to watch our shows. The ambition to be popular and brilliant runs through the BBC. I am being deliberately idealistic – because without a vision what do we have to aim for? Some of you will be thinking this all very well but you turned down my script last week, or you’re so slow. Of course we're never going to agree on everything and we’re all going to have our ups and downs. But whilst we are far from perfect I want to move with integrity at all times. We’re not there, but we want to be. I know other broadcasters talk about themselves as being paragons of virtue, but we’re not. We’ll keep getting better though. Ultimately I can boil this down to one thing – I want to make the BBC the hall mark of quality drama and the automatic home for the best talent in the world".