Post by Teddy Bear on Aug 13, 2013 22:38:24 GMT
A BBC film crew of 15 staff found themselves in Thailand with nothing to do when the people they were supposed to film pulled out. So like every media company would do they let the staff stay there and party for 10 days to the tune of £150,000.
Wouldn't they?
Maybe not!
But the BBC spending licence fee money has no problem doing so, even justifying it - saying 'Staff work very long hours and deserve time off'.
A £10,000 each holiday paid for by you and I - plus they would have been paid wages on top.
Wouldn't they?
Maybe not!
But the BBC spending licence fee money has no problem doing so, even justifying it - saying 'Staff work very long hours and deserve time off'.
A £10,000 each holiday paid for by you and I - plus they would have been paid wages on top.
Not much to film at the mo, so spending time relaxing! BBC boss' Facebook boast as TV crew partied for 10 DAYS in Thailand on trip which cost licence fee payers £150,000
By Steve Robson
A BBC film crew spent £150,000 of licence fee payers' money during ten days of alcohol-filled partying in Thailand.
The 15-strong team was flown out to a five-star resort in Phuket to film episodes of the BBC Three series Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents.
The show follows parents as they secretly watch their children during their first holiday abroad.
But the crew were left with an unexpected break in filming when a group of young holidaymakers realised they were being set up and pulled out of the show.
Producer and director Blake McGrow and his team then spent ten days drinking in bars, lying on the beach and lounging on yachts at licence fee payers' expense.
He even posted pictures of their all-expenses-paid jaunt online boasting: 'Not much to film at the mo, so spending time relaxing down the beach! So yeah, it's going well'
A TV source told The Sun the crew was left with nothing to do because there was no back up plan.
McGrow's team were mainly made up of freelancers working for production company RDF Television, which was contracted by the BBC to make the shows.
They were staying at the Kalima Resort & Spa hotel where the cheapest rooms are £190 a night and enjoys idyllic ocean views and luxury facilities.
Matthew Sinclair from the Taxpayers' Alliance said: 'When we are told that money is so tight at the BBC, licence fee payers will not be impressed to hear that a production crew spent a week and a half living it up in luxury hotels in Thailand at their expense.'
A BBC spokesman denied that the crew had been left with the time off because one of the show's participants had walked out.
She also insisted that the crew were following BBC guidelines during the break and that they had worked on other material.
A spokesman said: 'As with all productions, staff work very long hours, with the right to some time off. 'The production crew followed all BBC guidelines whilst filming the series.
“No episodes of Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents have been axed in this series and therefore there is no truth to the claim that we have had to write-off £150k.
'There was a break in filming but the team continued to work and film other material for the series.
'One set of contributors decided not to take part in the show before they flew out for personal reasons. They did not know they were going to be part of Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents.'
- Documentary team post pictures of booze-filled jaunt in five-star hotel
- Were in Phuket to film BBC Three show Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents
- But they were left with nothing to do when one of the subjects pulled out
- BBC defends free holiday: 'Staff work very long hours and deserve time off'
By Steve Robson
A BBC film crew spent £150,000 of licence fee payers' money during ten days of alcohol-filled partying in Thailand.
The 15-strong team was flown out to a five-star resort in Phuket to film episodes of the BBC Three series Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents.
The show follows parents as they secretly watch their children during their first holiday abroad.
But the crew were left with an unexpected break in filming when a group of young holidaymakers realised they were being set up and pulled out of the show.
Producer and director Blake McGrow and his team then spent ten days drinking in bars, lying on the beach and lounging on yachts at licence fee payers' expense.
He even posted pictures of their all-expenses-paid jaunt online boasting: 'Not much to film at the mo, so spending time relaxing down the beach! So yeah, it's going well'
A TV source told The Sun the crew was left with nothing to do because there was no back up plan.
McGrow's team were mainly made up of freelancers working for production company RDF Television, which was contracted by the BBC to make the shows.
They were staying at the Kalima Resort & Spa hotel where the cheapest rooms are £190 a night and enjoys idyllic ocean views and luxury facilities.
Matthew Sinclair from the Taxpayers' Alliance said: 'When we are told that money is so tight at the BBC, licence fee payers will not be impressed to hear that a production crew spent a week and a half living it up in luxury hotels in Thailand at their expense.'
A BBC spokesman denied that the crew had been left with the time off because one of the show's participants had walked out.
She also insisted that the crew were following BBC guidelines during the break and that they had worked on other material.
A spokesman said: 'As with all productions, staff work very long hours, with the right to some time off. 'The production crew followed all BBC guidelines whilst filming the series.
“No episodes of Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents have been axed in this series and therefore there is no truth to the claim that we have had to write-off £150k.
'There was a break in filming but the team continued to work and film other material for the series.
'One set of contributors decided not to take part in the show before they flew out for personal reasons. They did not know they were going to be part of Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents.'
THE BBC WASTE TRAIL - HOW CORPORATION SPENDS YOUR MILLIONS
The BBC has repeatedly been exposed for wasting licence fee payers' money on doomed projects and expensive pay offs.
In May, the corporation admitted it had blown £100million on a failed IT, the Digital Media Initiative.
First billed five years ago as 'the single most important initiative we are working on', the scheme was meant to save money by allowing all production staff access to video and audio material.
But costs spiralled, the project ran 21 months behind schedule and it was eventually halted in April this year.
Former director general George Entwistle walked away from his job with £475,000 after being sacked following a calamitous 54 days in charge.
And the National Audit Office revealed the BBC handed its own staff £369million in severance payments over eight years.
MPs said the massive sum showed an ‘outrageous disregard for licence-fee payers’ money’.
The National Audit Office said the BBC often breached its own guidelines and had ‘put public trust at risk’ by authorising the payouts, including £61million to senior managers.
Three internal reviews set up in the wake of the Jimmy Saville scandal have already cost £5million.
And despite spending £1billion revamping Broadcasting House in central London, the BBC will spend £3million a year renting back Television Centre which was closed in March.