EXCLUSIVE: The Traitors is all about backstabbing and accusations, however accusations of deception have now prolonged to the behind-the-scenes manufacturing of the hit present.
The BBC has been accused of portray a “truly shocking picture” relating to the variety of individuals engaged on the present who’re based mostly in Scotland, which is the place it’s filmed and the place it qualifies as a “Scottish commission” below Ofcom laws.
The Traitors UK is made by Studio Lambert Scotland and is filmed at a citadel in distant Inverness. However, veteran Scottish TV director Peter Strachan, who’s on the board of commerce physique Director’s UK, has claimed the present might be failing on the Ofcom laws. These laws require producers to satisfy two of three standards to qualify as out-of-London: having a “substantive base” within the area, investing 70% of “production spend” outdoors the English capital and having at the least 50% of the off-screen expertise based mostly outdoors London.
Strachan claims he has run the rule over The Traitors manufacturing workforce and located that “over 80%” are based mostly outdoors Scotland. He additionally claims that if a Glasgow-based BBC government producer was eliminated, no “above the line” roles can be stuffed out of Scotland.
In a LinkedIn put up that’s being shared all through the UK manufacturing neighborhood and has amassed greater than 650 likes, Strachan stated the information paints a “truly shocking picture.” He accused the BBC of “de facto cultural bias” and stated it’s “refusing to behave fairly.”
“Even if The Traitors does meet these two criteria, it’s clearly not being done in the spirit of the Ofcom Regional Production regulations,” added Strachan. Informed sources within the Scottish sector inform us that these questions have been raised throughout the Scottish manufacturing neighborhood over the previous couple of years, since The Traitors launched with a bang in January 2023.
Insiders advised us that the third season of The Traitors does meet the Ofcom standards for an out-of-London manufacturing and that alternatives for native freelancers have elevated because the seasons have rolled on. Studio Lambert has round 10 employees in its Scotland workplace in Glasgow and is engaged on growing different exhibits and coaching alternatives.
Screen Scotland Director David Smith advised Deadline his workforce is “actively engaging” with the BBC and Studio Lambert relating to The Traitors and, whereas enchancment is required, the present is on a “journey.” “This is a show that is representing an element of Scotland, its geography, really positively, so as a consequence we are supportive of it,” he added.
But Strachan described his findings because the “tip of the iceberg” for TV manufacturing in Scotland. “We have found many other supposedly Scottish productions are failing to create jobs for broadcast freelancers in Scotland,” he added. “It’s proof that the BBC is not commissioning fairly and that its spend isn’t translating into a fair level of job opportunity across the UK.”
Strachan’s put up is well timed. A Screen Scotland report from late final yr discovered that solely 5 of the highest 15 Scottish producers have been headquartered in Scotland. Defending the findings from this report as lately as yesterday, new BBC Scotland Director Hayley Valentine stated BBC Scotland’s definition of what makes a ‘Scottish’ firm is wider than what Screen Scotland says and stated Screen Scotland’s knowledge was considered by means of a “prism.”
But issuing an announcement yesterday, Smith rejected Valentine’s notion of the “prism.” “That prism was Ofcom’s Made Out of London Register, and the episodes the BBC had opted to say were Scottish qualifying in that Register,” he stated, whereas questioning the shortage of proof over the BBC’s declare that it spent £300M ($370M) final yr on content material in Scotland.
The UK’s networks have lengthy been plagued with criticism from the indie sector over their London skew. Nations & Regions guidelines are set by Ofcom and are in place to create a fairer system and extra work for ‘true’ native indies. They have been final up to date round six years in the past.
The Traitors launched its third season final week and has been posting its greatest scores but, with greater than 5M tuning in once more final night time. A star model may also launch later this yr. The present has offered around the globe and a profitable U.S. model airs on Peacock.
The BBC and Studio Lambert declined remark.