The BBC authorised a six-part Stephen Nolan TV show on the PSNI using an unusual commissioning process labelled by media insiders as “unprecedented”.
The ‘Peelers: PSNI – For Real’ show, thought to have cost well over £200,000 to make, got the green-light from bosses at BBC NI’s news department as opposed to the commissioning department. Mr Nolan’s Third Street Studios is behind the series.
Six episodes of ‘Peelers: PSNI – For Real’ have been made at an estimated cost of £40,000 each. No details on when they will be broadcast were revealed following the announcement last month.
The series is a Third Street Studios production for BBC News NI, the broadcaster said. Mr Nolan, a BBC employee who works under the banner of the news department, heads up Third Street.
Stephen Nolan in Belfast City Centre speaking with PSNI officers while making his Peelers documentary
However, an entirely separate department led by Eddie Doyle, BBC Northern Ireland’s Head of Content Commissioning, is normally charged with commissioning programmes by outside companies for BBC NI, and overseeing the process.
“Peelers was commissioned for BBC News NI. There’s nothing unusual in BBC terms about how it was commissioned. It’s an important series with strong editorial value,” a BBC spokesperson said.
Sources with many years of experience in the industry said they had never come across an independent production company being commissioned by the BBC News NI department to produce a documentary series. It was described as “unprecedented”.
The BBC did not directly respond when asked about the last time a documentary series was commissioned by or directly for the news department, and how many times it has happened in this way.
Stephen Nolan captured last year while filming his new series in Belfast City Centre
Similarly, it did not address whether other outside companies will now be able to pitch directly to the news department.
“We have commissioned this series on the basis of its editorial value and the insights that it will provide into everyday policing,” the spokesperson said.
“Externally sourced programmes are subject to the same editorial compliance and audit processes as other BBC content.”
Stephen Nolan inside Maghaberry with Kieran McGrandles, who died following a suspected drug overdose in May, 2023
Mr Nolan, one of the highest paid BBC broadcasters, earns a salary of approximately £400,000 a year for fronting his daily radio show, another on Radio Five and a Nolan Live television show.
Third Street, controlled by a trust headed by a leading bookmaker, with headquarters in an accountant’s office, has produced a string of programmes for the BBC over more than a decade.
Ascot House in Belfast was the listed address for Third Street Studios, which is now headquartered in an accountant’s office
The last series produced by the company and broadcast was Jailed: Inside Maghaberry, which appeared in 2023. The company is also involved in producing Nolan Live.
The series caused controversy after the son of a murdered woman whose killer was interviewed said the broadcaster and the BBC failed to take into account his family’s “feelings and emotions”.
An interview with an inmate, Kieran McGrandles, broadcast months after he died following a drug overdose, also drew criticism.
The release for the new series states that Mr Nolan “joins officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland as they patrol the streets of Belfast”.
“The series reflects the realities of 24/7 policing and its many challenges – including street disorder, substance abuse and domestic violence,” it continues.
“It also gives viewers a revealing sense of what it’s like to be a police officer and the teamwork that’s required in fast-changing and often uncertain situations.”
Mr Nolan added: “Peelers is an unfiltered insight into the reality of front-line policing. It’s based on the hundreds of hours that I spent with officers going about their everyday work.
“I’ve been with them as they tackled drug dealers, chased stolen cars and dealt with hostile crowd situations. What I saw was fascinating and unexpected. It blew my mind and I know that BBC audiences will feel the same.”
The Irish News previously revealed how Third Street Studios built up funds of close to £4m as of March 2022. This far outstripped the amount reported by other independent production companies in the north at the time.
However, this amount had dropped significantly by the end of the 2024 financial year, with the company reporting funds of approximately £610,000. The same accounts report an average of four employees over the year.
In late 2022, Mr Nolan transferred his shareholding to an employee trust, Tsseot, that is ultimately controlled by the bookmaker Paul McLean.
According to the Tsseot accounts, member funds stood at £4.9m at the end of September 2024.
Third Street Studios was contacted for comment.