The Scheme - 14/07/2010

BBC Scotland’s The Scheme, a documentary series following residents of the Onthank housing scheme in Kilmarnock, is set to return to TV screens soon.

The final two episodes were postponed in May, pending legal action against a person due to feature in the show. The recent conclusion of a court case has allowed the remaining episodes to be broadcast.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “It is our intention to transmit the remaining two episodes as soon as possible.” She also, however, confirmed that a transmission date for the programme, which attracted over 300,000 viewers in its first week, has not yet been set.

In a related development, the BBC has obtained an interim interdict against the dissemination of pirate copies of the untransmitted episodes. In a statement, it said: "BBC Scotland has reason to believe copies of episodes three and four, which have yet to be transmitted, are in circulation. BBC Scotland is looking into how copies of untransmitted material have been unofficially released and in the meantime this step [interim interdict] has been taken to ensure the programmes are not transmitted illegally. The remaining two episodes of the series are expected to be scheduled shortly."

The Scheme has developed a high media profile and provoked a strong debate following the broadcast of the first two episodes. In the current issue of SURF’s quarterly policy journal, Scotregen, Peter Kelly of the Poverty Alliance argues that the programme offers little more than ‘poverty tourism’; in response, Ewan Angus of BBC Scotland defends his decision to commission the series. Click here to download Scotregen 50 (The Scheme feature is on p12-13).