ALAN Cumming is pushing for more Scottish talent to be used producing the hit Highlands-based show The Traitors.
Cumming, who presents the US version of the reality TV show, has been advocating for greater representation of Scottish talent in behind-the-scenes roles after concerns about staffing numbers hit the headlines.
Peter Strachan, the nations and regions representative on the board of trade body Directors UK, had alleged that the BBC was counting The Traitors as part of its Scottish output despite it not technically meeting the established criteria.
Ofcom sets out-of-London criteria for production companies which are supposed to encourage firms to make more programmes, spend more money, and employ greater numbers of staff outside of the English capital.
The regulations require producers to meet two of three criteria to qualify as Scottish: They must have a “substantive base” in the country which leads the production, invest 70% of the production spend in Scotland, and have at least 50% of the off-screen talent based north of the Border.
Strachan claimed that just 4% of the “above the line roles” at Studio Lambert-produced The Traitor’s were filled by staff based in Scotland – and by removing a Glasgow-based executive producer it would be 0%.
BBC News, which is editorially independent, then reported on concerns from Scottish producers about the lack of Scottish talent used on the show.
"As a Scottish freelancer in TV it was so frustrating … especially considering how much we are struggling for work up here,” one told BBC Scotland.
"I quickly learned that many of my peers had never spent much time in Scotland outside of working on the show,” a second added.
BBC News also asked Studio Lambert for the number of Scottish people working on The Traitors – but the firm did not respond.
The broadcaster’s report further suggested that Cumming had been involved in pushing for greater Scottish representation in production roles.
Asked by The National if this was the case, a spokesperson for the Scottish star said it was accurate.
Quizzed about The Traitors and Scottish talent on the show, BBC director-general Tim Davie told MSPs last month that the corporation was not trying to “game a number”.
Davie said the BBC has a “great story” to tell in increasing its production spending north of the border, with 99.6% of Scottish licence fee income now spent in Scotland – up from 77% two years previously.
Only nine out of 66 productions did not hit two criteria to qualify as Scottish spending, he said.
Cumming is currently working as the artistic director at Pitlochry Festival Theatre.
After taking the role, the star suggested it had become an “impenetrable bubble of Englishness” that he said he would burst.
