The programme was commissioned by
BBC2 Controller
Alan Yentob, who had a background in serious arts documentaries, but the production team – led by
Michael Jackson – were mostly from youth programming backgrounds including
Network 7. The programme combined a number of format elements from earlier BBC arts magazine programmes such as
Monitor, Late Night Line-Up and
Horror Cafè (hosted by famed horror writer
Clive Barker). In the week, during the first two series, the slot featured a round-table discussion hosted by
Clive James on Friday nights. With the cancellation of
The Old Grey Whistle Test,
The Late Show featured music performances, live or pre-recorded, including
Van Morrison,
Leonard Cohen,
Public Enemy,
Joni Mitchell,
The Stone Roses,
Dick Dale,
The Cramps,
The Smashing Pumpkins,
The Fall,
R.E.M.,
Little Village,
Jane's Addiction and
Jeff Buckley. At the time,
The Late Show came under the now closed Music and Arts Department of BBC Television, which also produced
Omnibus and
Arena. The forty and sometimes fifty-minute programmes were presented mostly
live from a bare black set in
Lime Grove Studio D until 14 June 1991, when it transferred to
BBC Television Centre in
White City, west
London. The regular format was for a single presenter to provide links for a number of packaged features and interviews or panel discussion in the studio. Some editions were given over to in-depth coverage of a single topic, for example a whole programme on
National Poetry Day. The 1989–1995 revival of
Face to Face, this time presented by
Jeremy Isaacs, was also an element of the programme. Some weeks would be given over to one subject across the week, such as
Italy week,
Berlin week and, in 1995,
Ireland week. Some
outside broadcasts were made at the time by the
Late Show team including the ceremonies to award the
Booker Prize and the
Mercury Music Prize. Most items were pre-recorded on
videotape. Amongst the directors who worked on the programme are
Paul Tickell,
David Upshal,
Sheree Folkson,
Mark Cooper,
David Evans,
Anand Tucker,
Mary Harron,
Vanessa Engle and
Sharon Maguire. Later in the programme's run a regular panel discussion –
Late Review – was introduced looking at new films, books and plays and other arts and cultural events. Regular contributors to this included
Tony Parsons,
Tom Paulin and
Allison Pearson, and it was chaired by
The Guardian journalist
Mark Lawson. In 1991, Jackson left the programme to become Head of Music and Arts at the BBC; he later became Controller of
BBC2 in 1993. From 1992
The Late Show was joined by the follow-on weekly music slot
Later with Jools Holland that also drew away the programme's appeal to popular music acts. As Controller of
BBC1, Alan Yentob began to revamp that channel's arts coverage which also competed editorially with
The Late Show. The programme proper was cancelled by Jackson in 1995.
Late Review continued until March 2013 when it was moved from BBC Two to
BBC Four and went from a weekly to a monthly broadcast slot. It went through a number of incarnations, and now entitled
The Review Show, it is produced by the team that makes
Newsnight. Former Editor
Roly Keating is now the Chief Executive of the
British Library.
Janice Hadlow is now the controller of
BBC Two. ==Presenters==