Former Question Time executive producer criticises Glasgow move
The former executive producer of Question Time has criticised the decision to move the show to Glasgow.
George Carey has said that the decision to move the political programme by the BBC as part of plans to grow its percentage of regionally produced content outside of London, was one that risked ‘making an important programme Worse’, he told MediaGuardian.
"The fundamental issue, to me, is this: should the BBC care when their admirable, if expensive, plan to disperse production throughout the country risks making an important programme worse?" Carey said.
He also highlighted the rise in power of the Scottish parliament as another reason by moving the programme to Scotland made less sense, and revealed that original idea to move the show outside of London was mooted in 2004, while he was still in charge.
"It's not rocket science to see that if the production team are forced to move to Scotland, the show will either begin to weaken, or the bill for it will inflate to meet the cost of producers traveling and staying overnight in London to make contacts they could have done before from home," he continued.
The decision has been criticised by Question Time present David Dimbleby, who is currently considering a new contract from the BBC, following the resignation of the show’s editor Ed Harvard, who chose not to relocate to Glasgow.
Production company Mentorn Scotland has begun a search for a new producer who will be based at BBC Scotland.