It comes after a post on LinkedIn from director Peter Strachan, which is making waves in the Scottish media world, in which he said that the BBC was “not commissioning fairly” and the money spent on The Traitors “isn’t translating into a fair level of job opportunity across the UK”.
Ofcom regulations mean that the BBC is obligated to ensure that “at least 8% of the hours of network programmes made in the United Kingdom are made in Scotland” each calendar year.
Further, the BBC must ensure that “at least 8% of the expenditure of the BBC on network programmes made in the United Kingdom is referable to programme production at different production centres in Scotland”.
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In order to qualify as made in Scotland, two of three Ofcom criteria must be met. These are that the production company must have “a substantive business and production base” in the country; at “least 70% of the production spend” must be in Scotland; and at “least 50% of the production talent (i.e. not on-screen talent) by cost must have their usual place of employment” in Scotland.
Strachan, who sits on the board of trade body Directors UK, questioned whether these criteria were being met in the case of The Traitors.
He claimed that Studio Lambert, the London-based firm behind the show, had 81% of its production team for the show based in London – which he said was not “in the spirit” of Ofcom’s regional production guidelines, even if budgets ultimately meant it did meet the criteria.
He added: “This is the tip of the iceberg. We have found many other supposedly Scottish productions are failing to create jobs for broadcast freelancers in Scotland.
There are questions over how the BBC counts its Scottish productions (Image: Marshall W on Unsplash) “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. In this instance, Scotland has become a shooting estate of a different kind.”
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said the reports were “shocking” and that he would intervene.
Sharing Deadline’s story about Strachan’s comments, he wrote: “This is a shocking report and raises serious questions for the BBC and Ofcom. I will be seeking meetings with both.
“Scotland’s growing screen sector has been a success story in recent years and must not be undermined.”
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Screen Scotland Director David Smith told entertainment reporters at Deadline that his team is “actively engaging” with the BBC and Studio Lambert regarding The Traitors.
In November last year, Screen Scotland published a report which found that the BBC meets its Scotland TV quota using mostly London-based production companies.
A BBC spokesperson said: “As everyone who watches the Traitors can see, it is very clearly made in Scotland. To claim it isn’t Scottish is nonsense.
“It spends a considerable amount of its production budget in the local economy in the Highlands of Scotland, and it’s right that the BBC does so, as part of our overall Across the UK production ambitions.
“We’re also pleased to see the US version of Traitors still filming and investing in Scotland.”
Robertson had previously campaigned, alongside counterparts from Wales and Northern Ireland, for Ofcom to bring in an out-of-England quota for Channel 4 that reflects population share.
However, the representations from the nations were ultimately overlooked as Ofcom brought in regulations that will only require Channel 4 to spend 12% of its Budget outwith England, instead of the representative 16%.
Channel 4’s annual report for 2023 said it spent £663 million on content, £520m of which was for original productions. As such, the 4% gap likely represents a figure in the £20-30m bracket.