The handiwork of the BBC and other frontrunners from the U.K. will be in the spotlight when the Banff World Television Festival returns next month, June 10-13. The annual mountainside meet-up has more than the usual number of Brits on the schedule for this year, looking to connect Canadians and other producers with their cousins from the other side of the Atlantic.

The U.K. is a ‘world leader in different aspects of our business,’ says Jennifer Harkness, newly named executive director of the festival. ‘They continue to be an exporter of talent, they continue to come up with edgy drama… sitcoms, thrillers and series such as Life on Mars, Shameless, Bleak House.

‘And they are also becoming leaders in switching over from analog to digital, which is something of interest, not just in Canada, but internationally as well.’

Banff is expecting many delegates and commissioning editors from the U.K., one of the larger delegations expected at the four-day festival, which will open with appearances by Mark Thompson, director general of BBC Television, and Dawn Airey, a veteran of British Sky Broadcasting and former CEO of the startup Iostar, which she quit after just one week, ahead of the outfit going into liquidation.

Thompson, taking the stage shortly after a speech by Heritage Minister Bev Oda on June 10, will accept the festival’s outstanding achievement award on behalf of the Beeb, while Airey, the following morning, will deliver the keynote address, discussing future trends in broadcasting, both in the U.K. and internationally.

‘I think we’re in for a compelling keynote,” says Harkness.

Thompson will also put in an appearance at NextMEDIA (June 8-10) – the digital content conference that precedes Banff – taking part in a Q&A session.

Other Brits due to appear in the Rockies include BBC comedy boss Jon Plowman, UKTV Style’s channel head Catherine Catton, BAFTA-winning writer and producer Paul Abbott and CBeebies executive creative director Michael Carrington.

Plowman – producer of titles including The Office, Little Britain and Absolutely Fabulous – will sit down for a talk with Maclean’s writer and fellow wiseacre Scott Feschuk, while Catton will sit on the jury for the lifestyle pitch session on June 12, at which four finalists will compete for £5,000 in development money from UKTV Style.

Abbott, meanwhile, will be the center of attention at a June 13 master class about his work, high points of which include the 2003 political thriller State of Play, Shameless, his semi-autobiographical series on C4, and a stint writing and producing ITV’s Cracker. That same day, Carrington will talk with TBI Magazine editor Stewart Clarke about his multi-platform work on Cbeebies.

‘We’re excited about the sessions and panels this year. We hope that there will be lots of opportunities for coproductions, development and new business relationships,’ says Harkness, noting that last year’s festival saw a considerable jump in deal-making, up by five times to $720 million.

‘Deal-making, in terms of the production and distribution process, is a long continuum of discussions,’ says Robert Montgomery, CEO of Achilles Media, organizers of the festival since 2004. ‘They happen here at Banff, at other industry events, at private meetings – though we’re emboldened by how many people say their show was born at Banff.

‘That affirms for us… that Banff is a really crucial place on that continuum.’ *

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