Brexit

RDF Television has been commissioned to make the one-off special for Channel 4.

The show will see couples swap households for one week, as they live with families from an opposing side of the Brexit debate.

Wife Swap was first shown on Channel 4 in 2003 and since then has spanned the globe with various takes on the UK format.

Daniel Fromm, Executive Producer of RDF said: “With the Brexit debate dominated by politicians and journalists it will be fascinating to hear the voices of two ordinary families grappling with the issue.”

Snap Inc. which is the company’s new name, have announced that it will be setting up its main international hub outside of the US, in London.

The company already has offices in Soho, but plans to open a new site close by to head up its European operations.

The news comes amid fears that Brexit will negatively impact the UK’s technology industries, however the company says it chose the London base because of the UK’s “strong creative industries [which] make this a great place to build a global business.”

Zika

The first big story of the year was the Zika virus. It yielded moving pictures of troubled mothers and their babies, with malformed brains. It prompted near pandemonium, however, when speculation spread that it might disrupt the Olympic Games. 

There was also the continuing Ebola virus outbreak which had, in 2014, seen British servicemen and women come to the aid of folk in faraway places. That included the building of hospitals, which were staffed by brave medics, many taking time out from the NHS. 

Lord Mandelson, a self-confessed “heartbroken European”, set the tone of this debate. Unpicking 40 years of EU membership was complicated, to say the least. He declared: “Brexit is the most complex policy exercise mounted in peace time. Transitioning Britain out of its current merger with 27 other economies is a massive task and it is going to take many years.” 

The advice of the former Labour cabinet minister and European commissioner boiled down to this: “What you as an industry must first do is take a view on what outcome best serves your needs”. 

The “vote” of the UK’s independent television producers on the EU referendum could hardly have been more emphatic. The poll, conducted by Pact, the independent producers’ group, showed 85% in favour of remaining in the EU and 15% against – rather different from the UK’s vote.

There was no political campaign by Pact: the results were published but vanished into the pre-referendum maelstrom of claim and counterclaim.

The show lampoons the political communication and social media industry, mocking both In and Out EU-referendum campaigners, as well as the Donald Trump media team and the media team at the Kremlin.

Jack Dee and Claire Skinner (Outnumbered) form part of a stellar cast and play part of the pro-Europe ‘Unity Unit’ in Conservative HQ.

The UK’s successful independent television produc­tion sector is having its own European Union “referendum” several months early.

John McVay, Chief Executive of Pact, which represents more than 450 indies, has sent out “voting” messages to gauge the attitude of his member companies. These make a major contribution to the estimated £1.28bn of international programme sales and associated services earned by the UK each year.

From a television business point of view, indies have been asked whether the UK should stay in or get out.