Television drama has been at the centre of cultural life in the UK since the 1950s, yet much of it remains forgotten or inadequately documented. Co-hosted by the Centre for the History of Television Culture and Production at Royal Holloway, University of London (as part of the ‘Forgotten Television Drama’ project), Learning on Screen and the BFI, this event will bring together archivists, broadcasters, academics and enthusiasts to discuss the challenges involved in providing access to our TV history and enhancing its educational, cultural and public value.
The conference aims to:
- bring archivists, television professionals, academics and enthusiasts together to discuss areas of mutual interest and benefit
- discuss the challenges involved in the provision of information on, and access to, historical television material (particularly forgotten and less well-known television drama)
- consider how the relationships between archives, broadcasters and HEIs may be further improved
- consider the ways in which archives, broadcasters and HEIs may work together to develop access to information and holdings, collaborate to make historical television drama better understood and to increase its educational, cultural and commercial value.
Tickets £16. The conference will end in time for delegates to attend the screening of the experimental plays The Day of Ragnarok + Exit 19.
Booking is available through the BFI website.
Conference Schedule
Welcome:
- Virginia Haworth-Galt (Chief Executive, Learning on Screen/BUFVC)
- John Hill (Professor of Media, Royal Holloway, University of London)
11.10-12.40 Panel 1: Archives, information and access
Chair: Lez Cooke (Royal Holloway, University of London)
- Dale Grayson (Director of Content Management and Information Policy, ITV)
- John Wyver (Writer and producer with Illuminations and Senior Research Fellow, University of Westminster)
- Gabriele Popp (Head of Collections and Information, BFI)
- Sue Malden (Media Archive Consultant)
- Jake Berger (Product Manager, Research and Education Space, BBC Archive and Development)
12.40-13.30 Lunch
13.30 -15.00 Panel 2: Availability and exhibition
Chair: Hilary Bishop (Project Director, Research and Education Space, BBC)
- Andrew Yeates (General Counsel, Educational Recording Agency)
- Sergio Angelini (Head of Membership Services and Information, Learning on Screen)
- Tim Beddows (Managing Director, Network Distributing Ltd)
- John Ellis (Professor of Media Arts, Royal Holloway, University of London)
- Dick Fiddy (Writer, researcher and TV archive programmer, BFI Southbank)
15.00-15.30 Tea
15.30 -17.15 Panel 3: Research, education and use
Chair: John Hill (Royal Holloway, University of London)
- Bill Thompson (Partnership Lead on Make it Digital and Head of Partnership Development, BBC Archive and Development)
- Luke McKernan (Lead Curator, News and Moving Image, British Library)
- Lisa Kerrigan (Television Curator, National Archive, BFI)
- Virginia Haworth-Galt (Chief Executive, Learning on Screen/BUFVC)
- Simon Coward (Research Manager, Kaleidoscope)
- Jamie Medhurst (Reader in Media History, Aberystwyth University)
17.15 -18.45
Reception and launch of the Centre for the History of Television Culture and Production, Department of Media Arts, Royal Holloway, University of London (with James Quinn, Commissioning Editor, Sky and Kate Maddigan, former Commissioning Editor ITV).
(Photos: Bill Thompson)