martes, 22 de enero de 2013

BBC forced to axe Casualty storyline due to Welsh anti-smoking laws - The Guardian

The BBC was forced to axe a storyline in Casualty about the dangers of smoking because of Wales's stringent anti-smoking laws.

BBC1's long-running hospital drama was planning a storyline in which a smoker inadvertently caused a fire in a hotel.

But Welsh law bans smoking in enclosed public places and in the workplace, which includes – unlike England – actors lighting up on set.

Clare Hudson, head of productions at BBC Wales, told the Welsh national assembly on Tuesday that the smoking ban could cost its economy up to £20m a year in lost work.

"We had one storyline in Casualty warning about the dangers of smoking and how it caused a fire in a hotel," said Hudson.

"But we could not go ahead with it because of the current legislation.

"And scenes in [the revamped] Upstairs, Downstairs were difficult to work around because we had to shoot them outside of Wales.

"Our drama in Wales has been growing very steadily over the past few years. We don't want to see that growth capped on the basis of the current legislation.

"Without the additional burden of this regulation we would become more successful. It would be part of a fantastic set of incentives to attract dramas here."

Wales has seen a boom in its creative industries as the BBC has expanded its production operation, with Cardiff and surrounding areas in south Wales home to shows including Doctor Who, Sherlock and Gavin & Stacey.

Hudson said the legislation meant programme-makers had to cross the border into England to film smoking scenes in Bristol, costing up to £5,000 a day, or use expensive computer-generated techniques instead costing anything up to £30,000.

She said real smoking scenes were more "authentic" than ones shot using fake cigarettes.

The blanket smoking ban was introduced by coalition ministers in 2007, a move the now Labour-controlled Welsh government wants to reverse.

But Labour member of the national assembly, Mark Drakeford, said it was "morally repugnant" to relax the rules just because different legislation applied in England.

Anti-smoking group Ash also opposed any change, saying "the protection of public health had been elevated above all other concerns".

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