Romesh Ranganathan leads nearly 100 stars in a new BBC campaign released on Sunday, a three-minute film that brings together 90 household names from across the broadcaster. The campaign celebrates the BBC's "extraordinary cultural footprint to answer one simple question: What has the BBC ever done for me?"
Campaign Opens in EastEnders' Queen Vic
The video kicks off with Ranganathan in EastEnders’ famous Queen Vic pub, reading a front-page headline asking "Is the BBC really worth it?" He tells barmaid Tracey, played by Jane Slaughter, "it’s a good question" and asks, "what has the BBC ever done for me?"
As a man plays piano with his back turned, he is revealed to be Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Other stars include Claudia Winkleman, Alan Carr, Peter Capaldi, Sara Cox, Graham Norton, Vernon Kay, Greg James, Ruth Jones, Cate Blanchett, Daisy Ridley, Chris McCausland, Clive Myrie, Stacey Solomon, Pudsey Bear, and a number of Daleks.
Highlights BBC's Contributions
Ranganathan notes the BBC introduced the nation to Adele, verifies news thoroughly, and offers Mary Berry, Glastonbury, and "celebs on the telly." The campaign highlights coverage of Wimbledon, a love of nature through shows like Springwatch, and the absence of advertisements. Walking through the set of Call The Midwife, he says the BBC "does a lot for British storytelling."
Pushing back against critics, he declares "stuff your Apprentice and Match Of The Day" before Louis Theroux appears, warning that "none of this exists if we don’t want it to." Ranganathan reads statistics stating that public payments to the BBC create over six and a half billion pounds for the economy, which he says sounds "pretty good."
Strictly Finale and Campaign Message
Pushed onto the Strictly dancefloor, he asks viewers one final time, "What has the BBC ever done for me?" Judge Anton Du Beke holds up a 10 paddle but is told to "bog off." Text on screen reads: "There’s a BBC for each of us. Funded by all of us."
Inspired by 1986 Campaign
The film is inspired by the 1986 BBC campaign featuring John Cleese, reimagining the question for a generation 40 years later. Directed by Dougal Wilson of Paddington In Peru fame, the music is by Ben Foster, Ben Bailey Smith, and Andy Burrows, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Singers.
The BBC says the campaign launches as the corporation "enters a crucial period of charter renewal discussions and seeks to demonstrate the priceless and unique role it has for everyone in the UK."
Chief Customer Officer's Remarks
In a blog, BBC chief customer officer Kerris Bright wrote that the campaign aims to "ensure the BBC gets credit for the fundamental impact it has on society, as well as the things it makes." She added it comes at an "important moment" ahead of the Government beginning the process of renewing the BBC’s Royal Charter and determining how the organisation should be funded.
