Coronavirus: British soap Holby City donates TV set's working ventitators and personal protection equipment to hospitals.

by Thinus Ferreira

The BBC and its shuttered British Holby City TV soap has donated fully-working ventilators to the new NHS Nightingale field hospital that is being set up in London to treat Covid-19 patients.

On social media BBC Studios said that "fully operational ventilators from the Holby City set arrived at the new Nightingale Hospital".

Simon Harper, Holby City's executive producer, said that the TV series "is only too happy to help to help out and do what we can for the courageous and selfless real-life medics".

In the image shared on social media the wrapped ventilators can be seen as the machines are offloaded from a van.

Fully operational ventilators from the Holby City set arrived at the new Nightingale Hospital yesterday. @BBCCasualty & @BBCHolbyCity Exec Producer Simon Harper said: "We are only too happy to help out and do what we can for the courageous and selfless real life medics." pic.twitter.com/oUFaRPVhyn

— BBC Studios (@bbcstudios) April 10, 2020

Holby City, set in a fictional city, seen on BBC Studios Africa's BBC First (DStv 119) channel together with sister soap Casualty, both paused production in mid-March.

BBC Studios in a statement said that "prior to the coronavirus crisis the Holby City production took delivery of two working anaesthetic machines with ventilators attached but immediately asked our supplier to offer them to the National Health Service (NHS) when we became aware of the urgent demand several weeks ago".

"We received confirmation this week they had been sent to Nightingale London."

"The other ventilators currently used on-set were purchased many years ago and are unsuitable for medical use, whereas the machines delivered to the NHS were replacements that would allow the show to more accurately reflect a modern hospital setting."

"All the personal protection equipment (PPE) on Holby City, Casualty and River City has gone to support our amazing NHS staff at several locations around the United Kingdom."

Coronavirus: ITV follows BBC and shuts down Coronation Street and Emmerdale soaps because of Covid-19 spread while all South Africa's TV soaps on DStv, e.tv and the SABC continue filming.

by Thinus Ferreira

The British soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale are also shutting down production from today in light of the fast-spreading Covid-19 pandemic although in South Africa TV production continues on all locally-produced weekday soaps seen on the SABC, e.tv and MultiChoice's DStv pay-TV service despite an industry call for them to shut down immediately.

ITV announced that it is temporarily suspending production on Coronation Street and Emmerdale, both seen in South Africa on ITV Choice (DStv 123) because of the novel coronavirus that is rapidly spreading in the United Kingdom.

The BBC already completely shut down production its soaps last week including Holby City and Casualty both seen on BBC Studios Africa's BBC First (DStv 119) channel, as well as EastEnders seen on BBC Brit (DStv 120).

"ITV has sadly taken the decision to suspend production of the soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale with effect from Monday 23 March 2020," ITV says in a statement.

"We've been doing our best to carry on filming, whilst adhering to the government’s latest health guidelines to ensure we have episodes of both soaps airing on ITV until at least the early summer."

"However, the health and well-being of the production teams, actors, crew and their families is of paramount importance to us and we now feel that the time has come to stop filming. We'd like to thank our viewers for their support and hope they continue to enjoy both soaps in the coming months."

In South Africa broadcasters and pay-TV services like MultiChoice, the SABC and e.tv have not ordered the shut down of its locally-produced shows including the flurry of weekday soaps, with the country's largest studio complexes in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban who all remain operational with large casts and crews where collectively thousands of people work on sets in front of and behind the cameras.

Unlike cinemas in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere, both Ster-Kinekor  and Nu Metro have decided to keep their movie theatres open.


ALSO READ: Coronavirus: Stop filming and shut down TV shows right now urges South Africa's Independent Producers Organisation (IPO).

BBC Worldwide Africa continues to beef up BBC Brit by broadening the channel; moving EastEnders and Strictly Come Dancing over to BBC Brit.

As part of the ongoing process to beef up the offering and to lift ratings of the male-skewed BBC Brit (DStv 120), BBC Worldwide will now be adding female-focused programming from other BBC channels.

The British soap EastEnders is being moved from BBC First (DStv 119) to BBC Brit from 19 June, to 18:30 on weeknights, while Strictly Come Dancing is being moved from BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) to BBC Brit.

While DStv subscribers lose EastEnders as a high definition (HD) show since BBC First is an HD channel, BBC First is adding the medical drama Holby City from 19 June at 19:00 on weeknights that is "back by popular demand" for the 18th season.

BBC Worldwide Africa says it's broadening BBC Brit. DStv subscribers have been vocal in complaints about too many repeats and too little new programming on the channel, something the BBC has been addressing the past few months.

The movement of BBC channels content means that DStv Extra and DStv Compact subscribers will get access to EastEnders and more newer shows.

BBC Worldwide Africa says BBC Brit will continue to be the channel for series like Top Gear and The Graham Norton Show, but will now also see Strictly Come Dancing moved to BBC Brit, as well as new drama and comedy series like Michael McIntyre's Big Show.

"We know our African audiences have an insatiable appetite for entertaining British soaps," says Kully Kaur-Bains, BBC Worldwide's head of programming for Africa.

"We are excited to introduce the scandals, romances and family dramas of EastEnders to even more DStv viewers on BBC Brit. In addition, firm favourite Holby City is back with a bang and will have our BBC First audiences hooked."

"South Africa is the only market in the world to host BBC Worldwide's fullsuite of channels and over the past 6 months we have seen record viewing figures and an impressive 17% uplift in share, proving that we are the ones to watch," says Kully Kaur-Bains.