BBC Passed on ‘Slow Horses,’ Apple TV+ Europe Boss Reveals as She Pays Tribute to U.K. Screen Sector: ‘You Have to Take Risks’
Apple TV Europe boss and BFI chair Jay Hunt engaged in a rare public Q&A hosted by “The Traitors” U.K. presenter Claudia Winkleman during the BFI London Film Festival, where she discussed her lengthy career in U.K. public service broadcasting, move to streaming and the U.K. screen industry at large.
Among the advice Hunt shared with the audience was the importance of acknowledging failure and taking risks. Of the latter, she revealed that “Slow Horses” – one of AppleTV+’s biggest U.K. hits, which has since gone on to win BAFTA and Emmy awards – had been considered a risky investment, with the U.S. streamer only picking it up after it was turned down by the BBC.
More from Variety
“I think you have to take risks,” said Hunt. “It’s interesting. ‘Slow Horses’ is a very good example where it was passed on by the BBC. I think one of the reasons that people struggle with shows like that is they’ve got a hybrid tone. So people go, is that show a comedy? Is that show a drama? And so in a weird way, that represents risk.”
“I think finding those things, being confident we could hone them to the quality of execution that we’ve seen, and again, working with exceptional teams, exceptional writers, exceptional directors, I think it’s a slate which showcases the very best of British creativity, which is everything I hoped for in this job.”
At AppleTV+ Hunt has commissioned a slew of U.K. and Irish hits, including “Bad Sisters,” written by and starring Sharon Horgan, Peter Capaldi-starrer “Criminal Record,” Idris Elba’s “Hijack” and documentary series “Prehistoric Planet.”
“We’ve invested millions and millions of pounds in British creativity,” Hunt said. “And as someone who has built their career in this market and has actively chosen to stay in this market, working somewhere where we’ve given effects designers the challenge of saying, by the way, can you bring alive the world of 66 million years ago? Or to an extraordinary production designer saying to them on, you know, ‘Slow Horses,’ I want you to build Slough House with an attention to detail, which is, frankly, jaw dropping, to be able to come in and say, let’s give people a chance to do that and they can do that in this market — it’s not a brain drain, they don’t have to leave and go and work somewhere else to do that — that’s something I’m really proud of.”
Hunt also revealed when she first took the job, in 2017, she was the first employee in the U.K. on the streaming side of the company. “I started this job working entirely by myself,” she said. “I had an assistant but I didn’t have anyone working with me for a year above the Apple shop on Regent Street.”
Winkleman also asked Hunt about her stints BBC One, Channel 4 and Channel 5, where she held the top creative job at each network. In particular, the TV anchor asked whether leaving her job at BBC One for Channel 4 was a difficult decision. “Because that’s being offered an amazing job when you’re in an amazing job,” Winkleman said. “That’s like [having to choose between] Brad Pitt or George Clooney.”
Hunt acknowledged it had been a wrench to leave the BBC, which she described as “the place at which you can change the way the nation thinks about stuff” giving the example of hit drama “Luther,” with Idris Elba’s casting in 2010 being the first time a Black actor had played a lead character on BBC One.
The move to Channel 4 was made even more difficult, she revealed, because the network had lost “Big Brother” to Channel 5, which suddenly meant the commissioning team had 200 hours of broadcasting time that needed to be filled.
“But there’s something — going back to what I liked at [Channel] Five — the plucky underdog thing, that Channel Four is there to be a disruptor,” she said of the move. “And there’s something in my personality that finds that very attractive. I like the idea that we were disruptive.” Among the shows that were commissioned under Hunt’s leadership at Channel 4 were “Black Mirror,” “Derry Girls” and the controversial dating show “Naked Attraction.”
“I’m absolutely passionate about what that show did to transform what people thought about different types of bodies,” Hunt said. “But it was disruptive, it was surprising, and we had lots of programming like that, and that was a great personality fit for me.”
Another controversial decision was stealing “The Great British Bake-Off” (known as “The Great British Baking Show” in the U.S.) away from the BBC. During her Q&A, Hunt acknowledged it had caused a “hoo-ha” at the time but said the reality behind the move was much more pragmatic.
“The truth was that relationship between [“Bake-Off” production company] Love and the BBC had broken down. And obviously all credit to BBC for spotting that show and growing it into what it was, but Love didn’t want to make the show for the BBC anymore, and it was widely known that it was available to buy,” she said.
Another show commissioned under Hunt was “Gogglebox,” which Channel 4 persevered with despite dismal ratings for the first two seasons. The show, which has also had numerous celebrity spin-offs, is now on Season 24.
“It’s gone on to become an epic, epic, global hit that show, but when it first arrived on Channel Four, nobody watched it,” Hunt said. “I commissioned it again; nobody watched it. We commissioned it again the third time. I moved it to a different slot on Channel Four, and over time, it became an absolutely defining part of that channel. But it was because we were prepared each time to go back to the scene of the crime and go, ‘What didn’t we get right?’”
The experience taught Hunt about the importance of getting things wrong. “One of the things I feel really strongly about is that we’re rubbish at talking about failure,” she said. “All of those [successful commissions] happened but along the way there were unspeakable shows. There were shows that were ill judged. There were things where I made a bad choice or a bad call. And I think one of the things that will make us better as a community is getting much better at owning that.”
Hunt also paid tribute to the BFI, where she was appointed chair last year, saying as a body it is the “R&D lab for creative skills and on screen success in this country.” Despite being busy with her day job at AppleTV+, she took on the role because “Public service is a defining part of who I am. It matters massively to me,” she explained. “I think great film and television can change the world.”
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
