New BBC show Bring The Drama to find UK’s next acting superstar

The BBC is giving aspiring actors unique insight into the world of professional television drama, with expert tuition and money-can’t-buy access. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be seen by some of the UK’s leading casting directors and talent agents. The very best candidate will get the chance of representation with a top agent and best of all, their big break…a role in a BBC Drama.

The new six-part series, Bring The Drama (w/t), is being produced by multi-award-winning Wall To Wall Media for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. The application process is now open and aspiring actors can apply here: Bring the Drama (working title) | Shows and tours (bbc.co.uk)

The series will find and develop untapped acting talent that represents the UK today, from all kinds of backgrounds, who love to act, but who have never had the chance to realise their dream.

The successful candidates will benefit from an intense acting experience with leading industry mentors, from casting directors to writers and celebrated stars.

TV drama is experiencing a golden age and the UK is at the epicentre of an explosion of shows of exceptional quality. This timely series gives exciting new talent the opportunity to learn about the industry, working with scripts and sets from some of our favourite British dramas, with the help of some of the country’s most successful TV talent.

The programme will use and celebrate British drama as a way of offering our unsung talent an introduction to the real world of screen acting. The series ends with a dramatic final showcase with the winner securing the chance of representation by a top agent and a role on screen in a BBC drama.

Clare Mottershead, BBC Commissioning Editor, Factual & Events says: “British TV actors are among the best in the world, but there’s still plenty of undiscovered talent waiting for their big break. In this entertaining and revealing new competition, we’re scouring the UK to find our next acting superstars as we put them put through their paces behind the scenes of some of Britain’s biggest and best-loved dramas.”

Managing Director of Wall to Wall Media Leanne Klein says: “As a nation, TV drama is now the art-form we consume more than any other, so it’s hugely exciting to be making a series that will take viewers behind the scenes of some of our favourite tv shows and unpack the essential skills of acting via the incredible expertise of leading lights in the industry. I hope it will be a gripping watch for all who love watching actors as well as those who’d love to act.”

Suzy Klein, Head of Commissioning, Arts & Classical Music says: This new competition is about giving everyone the chance to break into a fearsomely competitive industry. Many people across the UK dream of becoming an actor, but few get the opportunities and training to do it. Bring the Drama promises to take them on the ride of a lifetime, giving them the skills and experience that they could only get in a prestigious acting school. And with a major real-world campaign of access into the wider film, TV and theatre industries running alongside the TV series, we hope to support the pipeline of world-beating talent that makes the UK one of the most creative places in the world.”

To complement the series, the BBC will curate a Bring the Drama Festival, showcasing the acting profession and encouraging behind-the-scenes access to other careers in the creative industries. The BBC will work with cultural organisations across the UK to promote and showcase the diverse range of opportunities in the sector and accelerate a talent pipeline which will enrich the creative landscape in the years to come.

Bring the Drama (w/t) has been commissioned by BBC Arts and BBC Factual Entertainment for BBC Two and iPlayer. The commissioners are Suzy Klein (Head of Arts and Classical Music), and Clare Mottershead (Commissioning Editor, Factual Entertainment and Events TV). It will be produced by award-winning production company Wall to Wall Media UK, who make both unscripted shows (from Who Do You Think You Are? to Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star) and scripted series (from The Windermere Children to Waterloo Road.) The executive producer is Emily Smith (Creative Director UK at Wall to Wall), and the showrunner is Alan Brown.