Coal House: Fictions of the Past on the Small Screen

This dossier exemplifies the rich and complex process involved in producing television history. Drawing together a commissioner, executive and series producers, multi-platform director and historical consultant, the dossier offers insights into the making of BBC Wales' 2007 award-winning, Coal House, an historical docu-drama that saw three Welsh families 'transported' back to 1927 to experience day-to-day life in the South Wales coalfield. Now in production for its second series, Coal House at War, this multi-platform project raises timely questions regarding the role of public service broadcasting in creating a sense of a national past in a digital and post-devolutionary age.