Bring the Drama, BBC Two review: this 'X Factor for actors' was a terrible idea

Bill Bailey hosts this new acting spin on The X Factor format – Dave King/BBC

Bring the Drama (BBC Two) is such a bad idea that it shouldn’t have made it past the first email. An email that presumably read: “Shall we do The X Factor but, like, for acting?”

It’s a TV talent show, presented by Bill Bailey, in which aspiring actors with no professional experience compete for the chance to be represented by an agent. Some are young, working as baristas or cab drivers while trying to land auditions. At the older end of the scale is George, 61, a retired policeman who always had a secret hankering to be on screen.

The BBC says that this is about finding undiscovered talent and giving opportunities to people who are struggling to get a foothold in the industry due to a lack of privilege (no rich mummy and daddy to fund them through drama school). Gosh, if only the BBC knew of a TV company – a British broadcasting corporation, say – that could address this when casting for the myriad dramas and comedies it puts out every year.

Instead, it will give this opportunity to precisely one person at the end of a six-week reality show. Auditioning for a stony-faced casting director must be intimidating enough, but with a camera crew in the room and a TV audience watching at home? It’s mortifying. And even this country’s greatest thespians didn’t suffer the indignity of being filmed as they took part in acting workshops.

Natalie Cassidy (right) directs Jordan, Chris and Janice – Dave King

Each week, they must recreate an “iconic” TV scene, which here meant an EastEnders scene in which Sonia performed emergency surgery on Phil Mitchell’s son in the Queen Vic using a kitchen knife and a Biro. This led to the surreal sight of Sonia being played by a 67-year-old healthcare assistant, and Phil by someone in their 20s. At least it meant a guest appearance (as the scene’s director) by Natalie Cassidy, who plays Sonia and who I am fairly certain is the nicest person working in TV today.

The eight contestants are at least getting national exposure, and good luck to all of them. Their performances were genuinely of no lesser standard than half of the people currently appearing in British soaps. The show has some merit: if you want to become an actor, there are practical tips here. But that could have been achieved via a documentary, or a BBC outreach initiative, or something else that isn’t a TV talent show.

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