Scottish TV legends call for major change in industry

Glasgow Times

03-06-2025

This call for wholesale change was made at the conclusion of the first Glasgow Telly Festival.
The four-day event was packed with innovative ideas for creating TV programmes, focusing on cooperation, action, and audience input.
Glasgow audiences packed into the Telly Festival events (Image: Supplied)
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The event brought together new and established talent from across Scotland to brainstorm, create, and showcase fresh TV pilots developed in under two weeks.
The aim is to reignite interest in Scottish storytelling and push for a more cooperative, dynamic approach to TV production.
At the final day of the event, a live reading of six TV pilots was hosted by Carol Smillie.
The reading featured well-known actors such as Shauna MacDonald, Joe McFadden, Maureen Beattie, Robin Laing, Kim Allan, and Cal MacAninch.
TV presenter Carol Smillie hosted the grand finale event of the festival (Image: Supplied) Joe McFadden and Shauna Macdonald performing at the festival (Image: Supplied) Audience members were given the chance to vote for their favourite pilot via the Studio Head app.
Over the course of the weekend, 55 'One Minute Pilots' - short, creative pitches - were filmed by Glasgow's actors, writers, and directors and screened at venues throughout the city, highlighting the breadth of local talent.
The festival kicked off with a lively panel discussion, chaired by STV's Laura Boyd, and featuring beloved Scottish TV figures including Colin McCredie, Sanjeev Kohli, Jane McCarry, and director Michael Hines, who shared their experiences and visions for the future of Scottish broadcasting.
The full cast of writers, directors and actors who created and performed six new TV pilots live at the festival (Image: Supplied)
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Festival founder Claire Duffy, a Scottish author, producer, and screenwriter, said the event was both a celebration of local creativity and a rallying cry for change.
She said: "We've had an incredible weekend enjoying the work of the wonderfully talented TV creatives we have in Glasgow and Scotland.
"We've shown that a new way of doing things can exist – but most importantly, we've proven without a shadow of a doubt the incredible appetite that exists for Scottish stories and talent.
"Audiences are waiting, we just need to take action and work together to produce the brilliant telly they deserve.
"I'll be coming back down to earth for a while after such an amazing weekend and would like to thank everyone who has supported this first-ever Glasgow Telly Festival.
"In many ways, the hard work starts here.
"Scottish TV has been in crisis for a long while, but from crisis comes opportunity and it's time to grab that with both hands.
"The Glasgow Telly Festival will only grow from here – as Carol Smillie said yesterday, the Hydro beckons!"
Viewers can continue to watch and vote for pilots on the Studio Head website and catch up with the festival's events on the Handbag Studios website.