To the many hundreds of thousands of viewers, watching Songs of Praise is like being in church. The hymn-singing bits look and feel exactly like a normal service, except of course one that is slightly fuller than usual.
But for those doing the filming, and being filmed, this appearance of effortless ecclesiastical normality has traditionally been achieved at great cost, of time and money, as congregations cycle through several retakes, sometimes to the point where they no longer need to consult hymn books to recall the words.
Now this gentle form of repeat torment is to be consigned forever to the oblivion where it belongs. Because the independent producers that are taking over production of Songs of Praise from the BBC are going to film entire church services in just one take.
This means that when worshippers sit or stand in the wrong place, hit the wrong note or forget where that modern worship song goes up an octave (usually at the end) and where it goes down (usually in the middle) – the viewer could joyously witness it all.
Rev Mark Melluish, national leader of New Wine, where the new company filmed recently, told the Telegraph this was a huge improvement: 'There were no retakes. They were so easy to work with. BBC producers would retake for technical issues – either sound or because someone had done something they did not feel looked right.'
When the change to the new producers, Avanti and Nine Lives, was announced, broadcasting trade union BECTU warned that some staff felt badly treated at being moved from staff jobs at the BBC.
The BBC's Dan McGolpin, controller of programming and daytime, said at the time: 'Songs of Praise is absolutely core to our religious programming and following a competitive tendering process. We have agreed a three-year contract for the series to be produced by Avanti and Nine Lives. They bring years of experience in producing religious and non-religious music programmes and they will retain the essential elements of the show that viewers value so highly.'
Avanti has previously worked with music stars like Katherine Jenkins and Bryn Terfel, while Nine lives Media specialises in making documentaries such as Dispatches and Panorama.
