Two new series for BBC Two

BBC Two has commissioned two new documentary series, The Planners and Racing Legends. The programmes will be made by the BBC in Salford.

The Planners is an eight-part, hour long, observational documentary series that reveals the work of a number of Council Planning Officers from across the UK. Shot over a six-month period, the series follows home owners, property developers and businesses as they navigate the planning process.

“The Planners is a subject area that everyone has an interest in, particularly in these straitened times. Whether you’re doing it yourself or experiencing it on your own doorstep, I’m sure this series will be prove very popular with the BBC Two audience.” Says BBC Daytime controller, Liam Keelan.

Each episode will include a range of different stories highlighting properties and buildings at different stages within the Planning process and will show what it takes to build the most inspirational, complex and beautiful homes and buildings in Britain today. From finding out what goes on in the architects’ offices and the council planning meetings to every stage on the building site the story is told through the eyes, ears and drawings of the Planners themselves – the people who interpret the rules, evaluate the proposals and make the recommendations.

Racing Legends is a three-part series that follows three celebrity car enthusiasts as they re-trace the steps of Great British Racing Legends.

Over the hour long episodes a mix of revealing interviews with family and friends and fascinating archive footage celebrities will pay tribute to a racing legend by learning what made them great. The documentary hopes that by charting the highs and lows, the victories and the near-death experiences, the enthusiasts will discover what it took to succeed in a dangerous era of motorsport. They’ll learn about the vehicles they drove, the engineering they employed and try to understand what put them in pole position.

David Williams, Creative Director, Entertainment North, said: “We’re thrilled to be adding such a diverse and exciting raft of new series to the existing portfolio of programming based in Salford and growing our in-house output on a Pan-UK basis.”

[Written by Mike Watkins]