{"id":399638,"date":"2026-04-15T11:27:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T11:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/399638\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T11:27:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T11:27:13","slug":"bbc-commissioned-bbc-employees-firm-to-make-new-series-to-air-on-bbc-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/399638\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC commissioned BBC employee\u2019s firm to make new series to air on BBC \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The BBC authorised a six-part Stephen Nolan TV show on the PSNI using an unusual commissioning process labelled by media insiders as \u201cunprecedented\u201d.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Peelers: PSNI \u2013 For Real\u2019 show, thought to have cost well over \u00a3200,000 to make, got the green-light from bosses at BBC NI\u2019s news department as opposed to the commissioning department. Mr Nolan\u2019s Third Street Studios is behind the series. <\/p>\n

Six episodes of \u2018Peelers: PSNI \u2013 For Real\u2019 have been made at an estimated cost of \u00a340,000 each. No details on when they will be broadcast were revealed following the announcement last month.<\/p>\n

The series is a Third Street Studios production for BBC News NI, the broadcaster said. Mr Nolan<\/a>, a BBC employee who works under the banner of the news department, heads up Third Street. <\/p>\n

\"Northern<\/a>\"Sinn<\/a>\"StephenStephen Nolan in Belfast City Centre speaking with PSNI officers while making his Peelers documentary <\/p>\n

However, an entirely separate department led by Eddie Doyle, BBC Northern Ireland\u2019s Head of Content Commissioning, is normally charged with commissioning programmes by outside companies for BBC NI, and overseeing the process. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeelers was commissioned for BBC News NI. There\u2019s nothing unusual in BBC terms about how it was commissioned. It\u2019s an important series with strong editorial value,\u201d a BBC spokesperson said. <\/p>\n

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 \u201cunprecedented\u201d. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"StephenStephen Nolan captured last year while filming his new series in Belfast City Centre <\/p>\n

Similarly, it did not address whether other outside companies will now be able to pitch directly to the news department.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have commissioned this series on the basis of its editorial value and the insights that it will provide into everyday policing,\u201d the spokesperson said. <\/p>\n

\u201cExternally sourced programmes are subject to the same editorial compliance and audit processes as other BBC content.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"KieranStephen Nolan inside Maghaberry with Kieran McGrandles, who died following a suspected drug overdose in May, 2023 <\/p>\n

Mr Nolan, one of the highest paid BBC broadcasters, earns a salary of approximately \u00a3400,000 a year for fronting his daily radio show, another on Radio Five and a Nolan Live television show. <\/p>\n

Third Street, controlled by a trust headed by a leading bookmaker, with headquarters in an accountant\u2019s office, has produced a string of programmes for the BBC over more than a decade.<\/p>\n

\"AscotAscot House in Belfast was the listed address for Third Street Studios, which is now headquartered in an accountant’s office <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s \u201cfeelings and emotions\u201d.<\/p>\n

An interview with an inmate, Kieran McGrandles, broadcast months after he died following a drug overdose, also drew criticism. <\/p>\n

The release for the new series states that Mr Nolan \u201cjoins officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland as they patrol the streets of Belfast\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe series reflects the realities of 24\/7 policing and its many challenges \u2013 including street disorder, substance abuse and domestic violence,\u201d it continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt also gives viewers a revealing sense of what it\u2019s like to be a police officer and the teamwork that\u2019s required in fast-changing and often uncertain situations.\u201d <\/p>\n

Mr Nolan added: \u201cPeelers is an unfiltered insight into the reality of front-line policing. It\u2019s based on the hundreds of hours that I spent with officers going about their everyday work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Irish News previously revealed how Third Street Studios built up funds of close to \u00a34m as of March 2022. This far outstripped the amount reported by other independent production companies in the north at the time. <\/p>\n

However, this amount had dropped significantly by the end of the 2024 financial year, with the company reporting funds of approximately \u00a3610,000. The same accounts report an average of four employees over the year. <\/p>\n

In late 2022, Mr Nolan transferred his shareholding to an employee trust, Tsseot, that is ultimately controlled by the bookmaker Paul McLean. <\/p>\n

According to the Tsseot accounts, member funds stood at \u00a34.9m at the end of September 2024.<\/p>\n

Third Street Studios was contacted for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The BBC authorised a six-part Stephen Nolan TV show on the PSNI using an unusual commissioning process labelled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":399639,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[176447,93,61,60,7288,176446,282],"class_list":{"0":"post-399638","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-bbc-ni","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-psni","13":"tag-stephen-nolan","14":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=399638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/399639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=399638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=399638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=399638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}