Amy Oliver
Email : [FOI #29785 email]
11th March 2010
Dear Amy Oliver,
Freedom of Information request – RFI20100300 Thank you for your request to the BBC of 26th February 2010, seeking the following information
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000:
1. How much was the final technical budget for the live version of Eastenders on Friday
February 19 2010 and did the actual event exceed this?
2. How many cameras were used to film the live version of Eastenders on Friday February 19
2010?
3. How many crew members were there involved on the live version of Eastenders on Friday
February 19 2010?
3. How much were the artists' fees for the live version of Eastenders on Friday February 19 2010.
4. Were the artists' fees higher for the live version of Eastenders on February 19 2010 than they
are for regular episodes?
5. Please provide a breakdown of the following artists fees for the live version of Eastenders:
Peggy Mitchell - Barbara Windsor
Jack Branning - Scott Maslen
Ronnie Mitchell - Samantha Womack
Stacey Slater - Lacey Turner
Janine Butcher - Charlie Brookes
Max Branning - Jake Wood
Bradley Branning - Charlie Clements
Ian Beale - Adam Woodyatt
Phil Mitchell - Steve McFadden
6. How much did the after/wrap party cost following the live version of Eastenders on February 19
2010?
7. What is the per episode cost of a regular episode of Eastenders.
8. How much did the live version of Eastenders on February 19 2010 cost the licence fee payer in
total?
The information you have requested in questions numbered 1-5, 7 and 8 are excluded from the
Act because it is held for the purposes of ‘journalism, art or literature.’ The BBC is therefore not
obliged to provide this information to you and will not be doing so on this occasion. Part VI of
Schedule 1 to FOIA provides that information held by the BBC and the other public service
broadcasters is only covered by the Act if it is held for ‘purposes other than those of journalism,
art or literature”. The BBC is not required to supply information held for the purposes of
creating the BBC’s output or information that supports and is closely associated with these
creative activities.1
You may be interested to know that the BBC never volunteers information about the cost and
budgets of individual programmes, since that information is commercially sensitive and would be
useful to our competitors.
Although questions 2 and 4 ask for information not covered by the Act, on this occasion we are
happy to volunteer that 39 cameras and 1 minicam (on the roof of the Vic) were used on the
production. I can also confirm in answer to question 4 that the artists’ fees were not higher for
this episode of Eastenders. The artists received their regular episode fee.
Question 6 is for information covered by the Act and I can confirm that there was a screening and
party to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Eastenders on February 19th. There were 772 guests,
and the total spend was £17,714, which equates to £22.95 per head. The event was held on BBC
premises in accordance with expenses guidelines and this cost included all food, drink,
entertainment, catering staff and facility cast costs as well as the cost of a photographer.
Appeal Rights
The BBC does not offer an internal review when the information requested is not covered by the
Act. If you disagree with our decision you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. Contact
details are: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF telephone 01625 545 700. http://www.ico.gov.uk
For the question that is covered by the Act, you have the right to an internal review by a BBC
senior manager or legal adviser. Please contact us at the address above, explaining what you would
like us to review and including your reference number. If you are not satisfied with the internal
review, you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. Contact details as above.
Lynne Connolly
Cross Genre Project Manager
BBC Vision
1 For more information about how the Act applies to the BBC please see the enclosure which follows this letter.
Please note that this guidance is not intended to be a comprehensive legal interpretation of how the Act applies to the
BBC.
Freedom of Information
From January 2005 the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 gives a general right of access to all
types of recorded information held by public authorities. The Act also sets out exemptions from that
right and places a number of obligations on public authorities. The term “public authority” is defined
in the Act; it includes all public bodies and government departments in the UK. The BBC, Channel 4
and S4C are the only broadcasters covered by the Act.
Application to the BBC
The BBC has a long tradition of making information available and accessible. It seeks to be open and
accountable and already provides the public with a great deal of information about its activities. BBC
Information operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week handling telephone and written comments
and queries, and the BBC’s website bbc.co.uk provides an extensive online information resource.
It is important to bear this in mind when considering the Freedom of Information Act and how it
applies to the BBC. The Act does not apply to the BBC in the way it does to most public authorities
in one significant respect. It recognises the different position of the BBC (as well as Channel 4 and
S4C) by saying that it covers information “held for purposes other than those of journalism, art or
literature”. This means the Act does not apply to information held for the purposes of creating the
BBC’s output (TV, radio, online etc), or information that supports and is closely associated with
these creative activities.
A great deal of information within this category is currently available from the BBC and will continue
to be so. If this is the type of information you are looking for, you can check whether it is available
on the BBC’s website bbc.co.uk or contact BBC Information.
The Act does apply to all of the other information we hold about the management and running of the
BBC.
The BBC
The BBC's aim is to enrich people's lives with great programmes and services that inform, educate
and entertain. It broadcasts radio and television programmes on analogue and digital services in the
UK. It delivers interactive services across the web, television and mobile devices. The BBC's online
service is Europe's most widely visited content site. Across the world, the BBC broadcasts radio
programmes in 32 languages on the BBC World Service and the 24 hour television service, BBC
World News.
The BBC's remit as a public service broadcaster is defined in the BBC Charter and Agreement. It is
the responsibility of the BBC Trust to ensure that the organisation delivers against this remit by
setting key objectives, approving strategy and policy, and monitoring and assessing performance. The
Trustees also safeguard the BBC's independence and ensure the Corporation is accountable to its
audiences and to Parliament. The Trust is supported by a network of advisory bodies across the UK.
Day-to-day operations are run by the Director-General and his senior management team, the
Executive Board. All BBC output in the UK is funded by an annual Licence Fee. This is determined
and regularly reviewed by Parliament. Each year, the BBC publishes an Annual Report & Accounts,
and reports to Parliament on how it has delivered against its public service remit.
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