To be hurt and annoyed at being dropped by the BBC?

[Ladyof2025]

BBC contacted me asking me to speak on camera about an aspect of local history I happen to know a bit about. I agreed and spent the next few days brushing up on the facts and then writing and rewriting a script and reading it out loud again and again until I knew it by heart and could speak confidently to camera as though I'd never said it before.

I do not have a pretty face, and am in my 60s and rather podgy, but I went to the trouble of going through my wardrobe for the perfect outfit that flattered my podginess, and had my hair cut specially and put on some make up, so I could be the best possible version of me that I could.

The production team visited, took me to the site and filmed me speaking. I did it smoothly and confidently and was glad that I had put in all the rehearsal so I came across as knowledgeable, professional and confident of my material. They said my performance was perfect, thanked me profusely and left.

After about a week they rang me to say that due to time and space issues the section of the programme that featured my input had been dropped. I felt absolutely gutted, not because I want to see myself on TV but because I had used up a lot of my valuable free time for several days preparing and rehearsing for it (for no fee I should add).

A few months later the programme I was dropped from came on TV and to my utter astonishment an attractive, slim young lady appeared, at the same site I was filmed at, and she spoke the exact words I had written and rehearsed! I nearly fell off my chair - the absolute bloody cheek of dropping ME but stealing the script that I had written. Thinking about it, I realised that they wanted my expert input, but not my saggy face or ample figure.

AIBU to be hurt and angry?

^^ This, and I’d be writing an email to the producer about my intellectual copyright ASAP.

Thanks.

It really grinds my gears how too many people don’t value the contributors. Without them we wouldn’t have shows, and although there are good reasons for not paying people for their own stories, expecting experts to give up their time and expertise for free is ridiculous - let alone then treating them like this.

TV needs to get rid of the ‘you’re so lucky to be here’ attitude.

What do you do? Your comment about directors made me think production management 😂

@Ladyof2025 Pleased take this further if you can..if it was YOUR words...can you prove it?

Awful.

@Producethis Haha how did you guess! Yes, PM, hence budget interest (fwiw productions can have kit on long term hire so no extra charge for shoots within the period)

And yes, this kind of thoughtless treatment of contributors is unbelievable on a human level, plus it just increases the public’s mistrust and makes our job of finding people to be on tv even harder than it already is. We’re struggling with this on my current production!

I am furious on your behalf. This is totally unacceptable.

@Ladyof2025 don't be shocked, many years ago BBC radio asked for ideas -took a script/concept of my DH and simply ran with it word for word - completely untrustworthy and full of people desparate to 'get on' who have no issue about stealing others work.

He learnt a lot from that - if doing any such thing - record yourself talking .

And by the way if anyone defends it on here- we both work in media and know full well these days in detail when it's copyright theft - and yes it does happen

Did she really say exactly the same thing you did, or just talk on the same subject? Because she would have been cast as an expert / or enthusiast as you were, so she’d know the subject also.

I’ve worked in this field for many years, and it’s possible that a senior producer back at the office decided your face didn’t fit, but - from your description - it’s also possible you were over rehearsed and unnatural. When you cast an expert contributor you want someone who can answer questions naturally, not someone who writes a script and memorises it.

If you really feel your work was taken by someone else, by all means complain, but I think it’s more likely she had similar knowledge to you. I understand it’s frustrating and disappointing you spent time an effort on it, but sometimes these things don’t work out, and not everyone comes across well on camera. They didn’t ask you to get your hair done, so you can’t hold that against them.

They should've paid you as a researcher if they weren't going to do an honest and open collaboration as they agreed with you. Honestly I'd be seeking legal counsel.

As I read it, they didn't ask OP to do any research or any preparatory work at all.

I work in a field which means that occasionally broadcasters want me or someone else from the organisation to turn up and give an opinion or some back ground information, or to be interviewed. And that's basically what we do, using our day-to-day knowledge of the relevant field. We certainly don't write scripts out or anything else - indeed quite often they end up asking questions which are quite different from what they discussed beforehand, so it would be a waste of time to do a script anyway. It does quite often happen that we find our words of wisdom get drastically cut or don't appear at all, usually because the topic has been squeezed out on a heavy news day, but basically we know that's a possibility from the start.

In your case, OP, I'm wondering if you gave them a problem if your scripted speech didn't actually fit with the question they originally asked, hence the need to re-film that section.

Something similar happened to a relative, they used hours of her research and work, she was not paid, and there were whole sections she had written said by another person. She was not credited for this. It has put me off being involved in anything like this.

they don’t ask you to sign any copyright. Your opinion is not intellectual property.

they will sometimes offer a disturbance fee, but people are not generally paid for being an interviewee.

im guessing OP over prepared so sounded like she was reading a script rather than just talking naturally.

It would not have been due to age and looks. Older women are massively underrepresented in television and the bbc is trying to address that.

They didn’t ask OP to research anything. Some sound bites are twenty seconds, and items are often dropped at the last minute due to breaking news.

the production company should have made op aware of this though

Nah. I was only an undergraduate scratching her pimples to paraphrase Virginia Woolf on James Joyce. Let 'em have it. Twenty odd years ago now.

Not surprised at all.

We too have had dealings with the bbc. A client misrepresented our company’s work as their own creation. Not only were the bbc aware and in my opinion did not edit it to make it a neutral broadcast (ie. That this is clients x, not this was designed by client.)

They also after invited the client to further radio and podcast appearances to quiz them on their supposed expertise. Ie. Our design, knowledge and our process.

So not surprised at all and YANBU.

To this day I still find the whole thing quite upsetting to think about. it was disappointing that an organisation that you look up to and should be something so great is really quiet immoral and slimy.

THIS!

stop looking up to them!! disgustingly biased, politically motivated outfit still 'piggybacking' on the reputation of decades of neutral reportage. stop paying the license of these vile political activists.

What does that mean?

It's local history. Anyone can research it and come up with largely the same information. As others have said, it's not their fault that you spent an inordinate amount of time prepping.

Some people are good public speakers, and some are not. If they didn't use you, then the most reasonable explanation is you fell into the latter category, and they decided to use someone who was.

Speak to a lawyer but is your script not your intellectual property. They owe you for your script writing services and time.

No.YANBU

I admit I haven’t read your full OP yet just the outline but I was listening to a podcast last night of someone who’d been dropped by BBC some decades ago after appearing in a series and suffering ill health. The BBC seemed much more concerned about covering their own backs than others’ welfare

I know my example above isn’t same as yours as person concerned didn’t write script for them but same principle

Incredible! You need to shine a light on this. Shocking!

If they used her exact words it is. Her script is her intellectual property.

That's disgusting, op. I'm so sorry.