Tommy Nagra, director of content at BBC Children in Need, has been talking to the This is MediaCity podcast ahead of his eighth, and final, instalment of the annual Salford TV charity shindig this weekend – or ninth if you count the Covid era tie-in with Comic Relief.
Nagra began his TV career at Pebble Mill in Birmingham, working on daytime shows like Good Morning, Anne and Nick, and is a long-time advocate of moving more of the BBC’s work outside of London.
He has since worked in various BBC departments, including as head of television for religion and ethics, in BBC Children’s, and in a radio education role. He has also had stints in commercial and independent television, making documentaries for Channel Four and at Birmingham indie Maverick, as well as spells in the US and Israel.
Nagra initially moved to MediaCity in its early 2010 days, and has served in his current Children in Need role since 2018. He notes that the show has undergone significant evolution since its 2015 move from its original Elstree home: “It’s no longer kind of people getting into a bath of baked beans, although I wouldn’t discourage it,” he explains. “We’re in a state-of-the-art studio. We’ve got all of the different strands leading into it where we’re engaging people on different platforms. It’s Pudsey’s 40th year, so we’re planning some very innovative new things around Pudsey in his 40th year. We’ve also got some very special treats planned for Christmas, so we’ve extended the window. It’s not just one night of television.”
Although many of this year’s plans remain under wraps until the night itself, one special event that has been revealed already is the presence of a celebrity version of The Apprentice this year, which will see Nagra making his debut as a biscuitmonger: “We’re very excited. It’s the first time we’ve done an Apprentice, and two teams of celebrities have created a biscuit, helped by kids from projects that we support. These biscuits will be available with our retail partners, and all the money raised from those will go into the Pudsey coffers. So yeah, it’s a different kind of TV show – we’re selling biscuits!”
He adds: “We’ve got corporate partners involved, and, yeah, it’s constantly ‘what’s the next thing?’ It is all year round. We’re already thinking about what’s next year.”
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While there’s no denying the annual appeal’s impact for the beneficiaries of viewers’ generosity, it’s clear that Nagra still wishes he could do more: “We can only fund one in six projects, and there are a lot of projects on the ground, at the grassroots, who are struggling to just to stay alive, pay the electricity bills. It’s a really tough time, and I’m always very conscious that we’re asking in a cost of living crisis, we’re asking the great British public to kind of dig deep, again, as they always do, to support the many 1000s of charities that we support on the ground,” he says.
“[They] need it more than ever, now that children are dealing with so many issues, whether it’s stuff that’s being fed on social media, mental health, the cost of living people are dealing with, disadvantaged backgrounds. There’s a huge amount that youngsters are having to contend with, and that’s changed over the years, and it’s important that we reflect that, and it’s important that we absolutely stay core to our purpose, because ultimately, there’s a huge amount of trust put into an organization like BBC. Ultimately, the special thing about Children in Need is we’re trying to raise awareness and money to help 1,000s and 1,000s of children, young people who need it most.”
Nagra talks with such commitment about the show and its causes that it’s a surprise he’s chosen to bow out after eight years in charge, although past experience has taught him that he’ll probably never really leave the show behind: “It’s really bittersweet. It’s kind of, you know, it’s, I think a lot of people who have left children need always say that once you’ve been at Children in Need, the whole Pudsey Bear thing, your blood bleeds yellow,” he explains. “It’s an incredible charity. You do an amazing amount, and yeah, it will be really emotional. But I want to make sure that this last one is fun. I’m trying to enjoy it as much as I can. I want it to be very, very special, particularly as it’s Pudsey’s 40th year.”
He concludes: “I’m lucky to have amazing people and teams that I work with across the BBC who are all bought into it. So yes, it will be an emotional finale for sure.”
