Comhairle nan Eilean Siar PRESS RELEASE 5 June 2000 For Use: Immediately

Over 4.6 million people throughout the U.K. watched Songs of Praise from the Western Isles on 28th of May giving the programme its best ratings share in weeks and providing U.K. wide exposure of the beauty of the islands.

The audience sees the end result, but many people are not aware of the months of hard work that goes in to gaining the commission for the programme and researching the stories. Five months ago, the Scottish Highlands & Islands Film Commission (SHIFC), a partnership between Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and the other 5 local authorities in the Highlands & Islands area, received an enquiry from David Strachan, founding director of Tern Television.

Having already produced four Songs of Praise in 1996 and 1998, Tern had been trying to persuade the BBC to film Songs of Praise in the Western Isles for years, and needed help putting together a pitch to convince BBC Manchester that the programme could be a success.

Up against competition from other experienced production companies, Aberdeen based Tern, supported by 'invaluable' information supplied by the SHIFC, were successful in their bid, resulting in the 40 minute programme which was broadcast on Sunday 28th May.

Over the following three months, Tern’s researcher Fiona Cumming used the SHIFC’s free and confidential services to obtain information, contacts and ideas, which, said David Strachan, allowed them 'to get quickly to the right people and places at the right time, which is what lets us get into stories.'

31% of the available UK TV audience tuned in to BBC1 last Sunday to watch Songs of Praise from the Western Isles - the best ratings share Songs of Praise has had for weeks. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s Film Liaison Officer, Gillian Dykes, said,

'4.6 million people seeing such a positive and realistic portrayal of the islands’ culture and environment is wonderful publicity for the Western Isles. The islands are already achieving high profile media coverage due to the Castaway 2000 programmes, which the Film Commission also assisted in the initial stages.'

Cllr. Phillip Maclean, the Comhairle's representative on the SHIFC, said:

"By providing a fast, efficient, free and confidential service to locations managers and production companies from all over the world, SHIFC is helping to attract film, television and commercial production to the Western Isles, which raises the islands’ profile and in turn leads to economic benefits, ranging from the direct benefits of film crews using the islands’ services, to the longer term impact of increasing tourist traffic to the islands, and attracting people to the islands to work, live and set up business."

The SHIFC is one of a network of film commissions covering the whole of the UK, but is at the forefront in terms of the quality of service it provides. An on-line database of photographs and locations information allows each of the 6 SHIFC Film Liaison Officers to respond quickly and accurately to enquiries. The database is only accessible by the SHIFC partners, and selected pieces of information can be printed off and posted or e-mailed to interested parties. The database already holds a wide range of records detailing potential film locations in the Western Isles, from famous landmarks like St Clements at Rodel and the Callanish Stones, to hotels, privately owned cottages and houses, crofts, black houses, winding roads, fish factories, beaches and small islands.

If you own a property or land which you would like to have included in the SHIFC database, or to find out more about SHIFC’s services, please contact Gillian Dykes at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar on 01851 810889, fax 01851 810652 or e-mail gillian.dykes@scotfilm.org Or have a look at the Film Commission’s web site on www.scotfilm.org for more information.

Ends

Issued by Nigel Scott
Communications Officer