Bragg attacks decision to axe South Bank Show (12 days to Coldplay episode)

Lord Bragg has hit out at ITV's decision to axe The South Bank Show, saying there was "no way forward" and "no negotiation" over swingeing cuts to its programme budget. Bragg said he thought he was going to a "routine meeting" with ITV's director of television, channels and online, Peter Fincham, only to be told of budget cuts so deep that "in effect they cancelled the programme".

"He made me an offer I couldn't accept; made the programme an offer I couldn't accept," Bragg told the latest edition of the Radio Times. "I'd stripped the department down two years ago. We made 12 redundancies, reduced from seven producers to two; we were a very lean and tight machine." But given the scale of the cutbacks he said were put to him by Fincham, Bragg said it would have been "impossible to make two or three programmes, never mind 18 or 12. Eighteen programmes cost them about £2m, including my wages and everybody's wages. That's about £100,000 a programme - one quarter of one per cent of their programme spend. I don't think the economic argument makes much sense, frankly," he added.

The final 10-part season of the South Bank Show, which includes programmes about Coldplay (who are featured on the 2nd show on 20th September), the Wagner family, Royal Ballet choreographer Wayne McGregor, Nick Hornby, begins on ITV1 on Sunday. Bragg said it was a "good, strong season".

As we reported back in early May and mid June, Coldplay are to feature in a documentary for the South Bank Show later this year, and details on the format of the show have been confirmed today, thanks to the official Coldplay site. Here's Anchorman:

We're pleased to announce that Coldplay are to be the subject of an episode of the South Bank Show, the highly-respected arts TV programme. The Coldplay show will be broadcast on ITV1 in the UK at 10.15pm on September 20th 2009. We'll let you know any international broadcast details as soon as we get them.

The show accompanied Coldplay for six months, taking in their wins at this year’s Grammys Awards, touring Japan, the Brit Awards and the War Child concert in London; and spending quality time with them whilst they work on their next album in the Bakery, with Brian Eno. It also features host Melvyn Bragg in discussion with the band. This is one of nine shows which will mark the final series of The South Bank Show, 31 years after it began.

The band will be seen in discussion with Melvyn Bragg in the autumn as he travels with them for six months, taking in their win at this year’s Grammy Awards, a tour throughout Japan, the Brit Awards and the War Child concert in London, where they performed with Bono, the Killers and Gary Barlow of Take That. Bragg will also be seen spending quality time with the band whilst they work on their next album in their north London studios, with Brian Eno who also produced Coldplay’s 2008 critically acclaimed album Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends.

The South Bank Show is in its final series, with the last South Bank Show Awards being transmitted in January 2010. Discussion on Coldplay's documentary is at the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks worldtrav]

Coldplay at Parc des Princes, Paris (7th September 2009):