ABOUT
BBC Scotland and BBC ALBA launch an exciting commitment to work together to fund new Gaelic-language production in Scotland. With a co-commissioning pot of £800k over two years, funded by the BBC and MG ALBA, these two distinct BBC channels will work together to source new projects that can work for all Scottish audiences, and which will be made available on a variety of platforms including iPlayer, YouTube, and TV. Producers will respond to genre specific content briefs over the two years with a view to making Gaelic content across different genres and which develops talent within the Highland and Islands creative sector.
The first production opportunity will be for digital-first drama skewed to younger audiences. Inspired by the success of BBC Scotland’s recent award-winning short-form dramas including Float and this year’s Royal Television Society Scotland drama award-winner Dog Days, the digital-first dramas will be pitched as short ten-minute episodes primarily aimed at BBC iPlayer and a window on BBC ALBA YouTube. After an initial phase of development, the ambition is that the successful project will go into production in 2025.
Unscripted opportunities will be announced later in the year.
This commitment seeks to build a production skill and talent base in the Highlands and Islands and to develop and feature young Gaelic-speaking talent.
NEW GAELIC-LANGUAGE DIGITAL-FIRST DRAMA OPPORTUNITY
BBC ALBA and BBC Scotland invite pitches for a new short-form episodic drama series aimed at younger audiences. In a similar format to BBC Scotland’s recent award-winning short-form dramas including Float and this year’s Royal Television Society Scotland drama award-winner Dog Days, the new Gaelic digital-first drama will be episodes of ten-minute durations primarily aimed at publishing on the BBC iPlayer with a window on BBC ALBA YouTube.
We are open to a range of idea types and drama genres. Stories should be fast-paced and hooky, tackling themes and exploring territory relevant to younger audiences of 16-24 years old. Whether coming-of-age, horror, sci fi or romance, producers should be clear on why their initial concept will cut through in a competitive drama market for younger viewers. Although we welcome wit and attitude, we are not looking for out-and-out comedy genres such as sitcom or sketch-based shows.
This drama opportunity does not support stand-alone stories or monologues and should be episodic in nature with cliffhanger episodes and captivating characters we will want to stay with across a series. We will, however, consider stylistic approaches to episodes that lean into the digital budget such as single takes, phone filmed dramas, Dogme 95 etc (although a more traditional television style is also absolutely fine!)
We are united in a desire to develop Gaelic-speaking talent so please keep this front of mind when looking at on and off-screen talent involved in the creation and realisation of the idea. Cultural and linguistic authenticity are really important. We are not looking for ideas that have been wholly originated in English, or that require translation. However, we are open to collaborations between Gaelic and English-language writers.
Pitches should come via any Scottish production company but must clearly state how the offer supports the development of talent and production in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
Priority will be given to projects which have creative talent (writers, directors, producers) in, or from, the area.
We will also give weighting to projects which have two or more of the following elements in the Highlands and Islands.
We will also welcome partnerships between production companies if one of them is not based in the Highlands and Islands.
Please note, if you are an emerging Gaelic writer interested in this opportunity but unsure of how to connect with production companies, please email Bill Macleod here – bill.macleod@mgalba.com – for support.
Final programmes can have a mixed language-scheme, but the predominant language should always be Gaelic.
Digital drama is a low tariff genre of circa £3k-£4k per minute and we would expect producers to shape their editorial ambition and crew scale to reflect this – or work with additional funders to increase the overall production budget.
Initial Ideas (short treatments) should be submitted before 6/1/25 with funded development available to support a number of projects before a production decision in Spring 2025. Please include information regarding the writer(s) and a writing sample in Gaelic with an English language transcript.
Pitches should be submitted to gaelicdigitalcommissioning@bbc.co.uk
This opportunity forms part of BBC Scotland and BBC ALBA’s two-year commitment to support new Gaelic-language production opportunities with further unscripted opportunities to be announced later this year.