Introduction

Taking the Flak is a comedy drama which aired on BBC Two in summer 2009. It is set in a fictional Central African country that is the middle of a civil war.

A team of BBC journalists arrive from London, to the annoyance of the local BBC stringer Harry Chambers (Bruce Mackinnon), and send reports back to BBC News in London.

The series has been described as “a bit like Drop the Dead Donkey meets The Constant Gardener”.

Outline

Taking the Flak is set in the fictional Central African Republic of Karibu, which is in the middle of a war. The local BBC news reporter, or ‘stringer’, Harry Chambers, sees the war as chance to make a name for himself as he is the only journalist in the country. However, as the war becomes more important, the BBC sends in more journalists to cover it, knocking Harry out of the spotlight. These include David Bradburn (Martin Jarvis), the BBC’s Chief Foreign Editor, who knows very little about the area, but he still appears on screen as authoritative.

Also part of the BBC team is Jane Thomason (Doon Mackichan), the news producer has to control the reporting on the ground. She has to deal with the staff back in London, originally led by Nigel Bagwell (Mackenzie Crook) in the first episode, but in the rest of the series is led by the young Alexander Taylor-Pierce (Harry Lloyd). She also has problems with her main cameraman Jack (Lloyd Owen), whom she is having an affair with. After the first episode, Jack leaves Jane to go back home to his wife to help with her IVF treatment. In the third episode, she gets a new cameraman, Rory Wallace (Damian O’Hare), who can film almost anything under any circumstances. Another member of the BBC team is Margaret Hollis, who is seen by the rest of the TV crew as a rival because she works for radio, as a reporter for the BBC World Service. Unlike the others, she has not had any affairs. Part of the problem is due to medical issues, including stomach and bowel problems.

There are also civilians who are also involved with the reporting. These include Joyful Sifuri (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), the local fixer who worked with Harry before the war and now helps the entire BBC crew with his local knowledge; Grace Matiko (Lydiah Gitachu) the receptionist at the hotel where the crew are staying and Harry’s on-off girlfriend; and Samantha Cunningham Fleming (Lucy Chalkley) a posh charity worker who sometimes helps in finding stories but whom everyone else finds annoying.

Taking the Flak Series

• Episode 01: Bigfooting.
• Episode 02: Black Gold, Code Red.
• Episode 03: Cursed is the Country.
• Episode 04: The Past is a Different Country.
• Episode 05: Unfriendly Fire.
  Episode 06: Big Beasts.
• Episode 07: Enter the Lion.

Production & Filming Details

• Creator(s): Tira Shubart, Sandra Jones, and Jon Rolph.
• Director(s): John Rolph and Adam Miller.
• Producer(s): John Rolph and Tira Shubart.
• Original Network: BBC Two.
• Release Date: 08 July 2009 to 19 August 2009.
• Running Time: 1 x 60 minutes and 6 x 30 minutes.
• Country: UK.
• Language: English.