Film Four’s head, Tessa Ross, appeared in front of the House of Lords Communications Committee, which is undertaking an investigation into the state of the UK’s film and TV industries, and warned that her company’s future is under threat as the recession continues to hit hard the fortunes of its parent company Channel 4.
“We would be foolish not to be worried,” Ross told the attending peers.
She called on to committee to re-write Channel 4’s mission to include the film channel’s activities. She stressed that Film 4 had invested £1.5 million from its annual 14 million budget into the Oscar-winning hit “Slumdog Millionaire”.
Channel 4’s mission is less specific in its support for investing in British film production than that of BBC.