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³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Director-General Mark Thompson today reported a rise in network production from Scotland as it was announced that a Scottish season is to run on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Four and that three network comedies, Life Of Riley, The Old Guys and Rab C Nesbitt, have each been commissioned for a new series.

Alan Cumming, Peter Capaldi, Rory Bremner, Andrew Marr, Kirsty Wark, A.L. Kennedy and Charles Kennedy are all set to take part in a special Scottish season on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Four.

The month-long season, due to transmit in the autumn, will include a broad sweep of programming celebrating and dissecting aspects of Scottish culture, art, film-making, heritage, landscape and psyche.

Meanwhile it was confirmed that the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One sitcoms Life Of Riley, starring Caroline Quentin and Neil Dudgeon, and The Old Guys starring Roger Lloyd Pack, Clive Swift, Jane Asher and Katherine Parkinson, will be returning to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Scotland's studios in Pacific Quay, Glasgow. Rab C Nesbitt, played by Gregor Fisher, has also been commissioned for another run on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two and all three series go into production in Glasgow later this year.

Today's season launch and commissioning announcements coincide with an appearance by Mark Thompson at the All Party Scottish Broadcasting Group in Westminster.

The Director-General reported network production growth in Scotland from 3.3% in 2007 to 3.7% in 2008 and forecast a further rise to between 5% and 6% by the end of this calendar year. The projected increase indicates the target, of delivering network production equivalent to Scotland's proportion of the UK population by 2016, is on track.

Mark Thompson said: "The Scottish season will explore and celebrate the enormous cultural contribution Scotland has made and also bang the drum for Scottish creativity.

"I'm also delighted that the three network comedies, Life Of Riley, Old Guys and Rab C Nesbitt, are going back into production in Scotland. I am sure they will be given a warm welcome back by our audiences.

"The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ is making good progress in delivering irreversible changes that will increase the production and commissioning of network programmes in Scotland.

"Whilst this will not happen overnight, it will bring about a fundamental change in the make-up of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ and move an increasing volume of network production closer to the audiences we serve in Scotland."

Rebecca Papworth, Executive Producer, Comedy, said: "The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Comedy department are delighted at the recommission of Old Guys, Life Of Riley and Rab C Nesbitt, three sitcoms which all came out of Glasgow and collectively reached millions of viewers on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One and ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two.

"Their recommission is an example of the support and commitment the Comedy department has had from ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One and ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two Controllers and schedulers in pursuing programmes that connect and entertain large mass audiences, whilst simultaneously growing a sustainable comedy production community inside Scotland. We look forward to more comedy coming out of Scotland in 2010."

On the new season, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Four Controller Richard Klein added: "In the year Scotland marks a decade of devolution, it seems a good time to take a fresh look at perceptions of Scotland both north of the border and across the UK."

Other contributors during the Scottish season will include film-makers Bill Forsyth, David Hayman, Peter Mullan, Andrew MacDonald and Gillies MacKinnon and artists Peter Howson, Alison Watt, John Byrne, Alexander Moffat, Calum Colvin, and Roddy Buchanan. Essayist Jonathan Meades, former politician Michael Portillo and geographer Nicholas Crane will also feature in the season.

Among the highlights is a documentary, A Portrait Of Scotland, with Peter Capaldi taking on his first presenting role in this feature-length special. Capaldi encounters the artists and paintings that have reflected the changing face of Scotland since the Reformation.

Peter Capaldi, a graduate of the Glasgow School of Art, says of his time there: "What gift I had was for drawing faces, so I'd come to the right place to learn about that most Scottish of arts – the portrait. But then punk rock happened and I abandoned my army surplus greatcoat in favour of peroxide hair and PVC trousers. I turned my back on painting.

"With this programme I've been offered a second chance to learn about the great traditions and history of Scottish painting. And this time I'm delighted to take it."

International movie star Alan Cumming presents Scotland On Screen looking at some classic movies and how their Scottish locations contributed to their iconic status – ranging from The Wicker Man in Dumfries and Galloway, Gregory's Girl in Cumbernauld and I Know Where I'm Going in Mull, to a contrasting cinematic view of Edinburgh via Trainspotting and The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie.

Contributors include Edward Woodward, star of The Wicker Man, and a wide range of noted Scottish film-makers and actors.

Says Alan: "I wanted to do Scotland On Screen because I am endlessly fascinated by both how Scotland is perceived and how we (literally in this case) project ourselves to the world. And also I never tire of driving around our beautiful country!"

Jonathan Meades takes a quixotic tour of Scotland, a country which has intrigued him since he first encountered lists of towns only known from football coupons. The three-part series is entitled Jonathan Meades: Off Kilter.

Another documentary looks at the hold Calvinism is perceived to have had over the psyche of Scots.

Born 500 years ago, John Calvin was a radical thinker who challenged the primacy of the Catholic Church. He never visited, but his teaching took root in Scotland with a fervour which exceeded other parts of the UK.

Andrew Marr, Kirsty Wark, Jack Vettriano, A.L. Kennedy and Charles Kennedy muse on his legacy.

Edinburgh-born Rory Bremner – a descendant of Scottish soldiers, including his father and a great grandfather – presents Scottish Soldier.

For more than three centuries, Scotland has sent large numbers of young men to fight for King and Country. Rory Bremner tells the story of Scots in the British Army and investigates why this small country has sent so many of its young men to the front.

Nicholas Crane unravels the story of how the wild Scottish mountains were tamed by Sir Hugh Munro, a little more than a century ago, and tries to understand the all-consuming obsession that has endured for a hundred years.

The season is conceived and largely produced by ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Scotland for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Four, with further programming from independent producers and a special with Michael Portillo chairing a discussion on the possibility of independence for Scotland.

Programming from independent production companies includes Tweed, a three-part series made by Bellwether Media, which goes to the Outer Hebrides to chronicle an industry perilously close to extinction, weaving in the stories of designers, mill owners, weavers and lawyers.

Balmoral, from Blakeway Productions, is a one-off looking at the story behind the Royal Family's most private residence and its connection with Scottish traditions.

Andrea Miller, Head of Factual at ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Scotland, says: "The season as a whole takes a look at some of the perceptions of Scotland in a fresh way. It's great that so many of Scotland's contemporary stars have taken part, including film stars Alan Cumming and Peter Capaldi and satirist and writer Rory Bremner, because their passion and understanding bring these subjects to life."

The three network comedies were commissioned by Lucy Lumsden, Controller of Comedy Commissioning, alongside Jay Hunt, Controller of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One (Life Of Riley and The Old Guys), and Janice Hadlow, Controller of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two (Rab C Nesbitt). The Executive Producer is Rebecca Papworth.

Life Of Riley is written by Georgia Pritchett (Smack The Pony), The Old Guys is written by Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show) with Simon Blackwell (The Thick Of It), and Rab C Nesbitt is written by Ian Pattison.

JG2