Edinburgh TV Festival 2012 ‘Meet the Controller’ session with Janice Hadlow & 2013 BBC Two drama preview

I’m in Edinburgh at the moment for my ‘Meet the Controller’ session at the Television Festival.
It’s presented an opportunity to look back at 2012 on BBC Two. The amazing resurgence in drama has continued with the success of The Hollow Crown which received some of the most wonderful reviews I’ve ever seen. And then we had Line Of Duty – the channel’s best performing drama series since 2002.

Actress Julie Walters being made-up during shooting for BBC Two’s The Hollow Crown.

Comedy is also on a high with the success of Twenty Twelve, The Sarah Millican Show and Rev; documentaries have gained incredible access and tackled tough subjects in a sensitive way, from Protecting Our Children to Britain In A Day; and we’ve filmed live from the edge of a volcano, seen the last interview with Lucian Freud and learnt how to bake the perfect Victoria sponge.
Talent has continued to be central to the channel with Lucy Worsley, Mary Beard, Rachel Khoo, Dominic Sandbrook and the fabulous Transit of Venus presenters (Dr Lucie Green, biologist Liz Bonnin, and oceanographer Dr Helen Czerskias), as well as national treasures Mary Berry and Brian Cox. And we celebrated a Christmas No.1 with the incredible Military Wives choir!
More recently, I’ve been pleased to see the channel’s strong performance against the Olympics. Offering viewers a genuine alternative is what public service broadcasting is all about and I’m delighted that BBC Two did it so well.
Of course, the drive to make the channel more distinctive and the impact of DQF cuts are challenging but I’m pleased that the channel continues to outperform its competitors at peak and that audience appreciation is as high as ever.
Looking ahead, I want the same sense of confidence and scale to continue. Today I announced a number of exciting new commissions that demonstrate the bold approach the channel continues to take.
Throughout 2013 BBC Two will celebrate British inventiveness and ingenuity with programmes from history, science, documentaries and arts. The Genius Of Invention will include programmes from Michael Moseley, Brian Cox, Liz Bonnin and the Hairy Bikers exploring all aspects of Britain’s scientific and engineering history.
I’m a huge fan of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and the more recent Bring Out The Bodies and I am delighted that we are turning her prize-winning novels into a drama series. We also have a new series from the brilliant Hugo Blick.
We’ve got more great comedy with new series featuring some of our brightest and funniest comedians – Sue Perkins, Mitchell and Webb and Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson.
And finally, Amanda Vickery is back with an exploration of women in art.
You can see a sneak preview of the exciting drama that is coming up on the channel below and there’s more information about more of BBC Two’s new commissions in this press release.
Janice Hadlow is controller of BBC Two.