Bake Off rises again after lockdown
THE Great British Bake Off and Line Of Duty are among the top shows that will resume filming first, broadcasters have confirmed.
Channel 4 says Bake Off will be ready to air in the autumn, with contestants, crew, presenters and judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood having quarantined for 14 days before production starts.
A spokeswoman said: “We are working hard to deliver Bake Off to the audience this year. The priority is the safety of everyone involved in the production of the series.”
Line Of Duty cast and crew, who had to pause filming of the sixth series in Belfast back in March, have been told they will pick up from where they left off on August 24.
The BBC One drama still has 12 weeks of filming to finish, after completing four before lockdown.
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Vicky McClure, who plays DI Kate Fleming alongside actors Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar, recently insisted there was no chance of the production team doing anything unsafe.
She said: “The thing is Jed Mercurio – who writes, produces and is our showrunner – he was a doctor before he was a writer, so he’s not going to cut any corners, do you know what I mean?”
Other popular shows getting ready for the off include Call The Midwife, with stars expected back on set in September to film the Christmas special for BBC One.
But the action will take place in Poplar, east London, rather than on location like last year, which was set in the Outer Hebrides.
Producer Annie Tricklebank said: “We are going to make it and it’s going to be on the air on Christmas Day.” The team then hopes to push ahead with the next eight-part series, set in the World Cup-winning year of 1966.
Another BBC One drama, Death In Paradise, with Ralf Little, is preparing to start filming next month on Guadeloupe in the Caribbean.
ITV’s first dramas to be filmed post-lockdown are likely to be Unforgotten, the cold case cop series starring Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar, and Grantchester, which is set in the 1950s and stars Tom Brittney and Robson Green.
ITV will also push on with filming the finals of Britain’s Got Talent and TheVoice in the autumn, while making a second run of The Masked Singer. Sky hopes the third run of Britannia, starring David Morrissey and Zoe Wanamaker, will be back in action by the end of the summer.
But all the shows could face problems with insurance, as most providers are now refusing to cover any Covid-related claims.
A TV insider said: “If one person goes down with coronavirus then everyone on set has to quarantine, the whole production is thrown into jeopardy and it’s a massive risk.
“We are hoping that the Government and big broadcasters will step up and carry some of that risk. We can’t physically do it without insurance.”