Decision to film Kidnapped in NZ causes outcry in Scotland

The BBC is under fire for opting to film the famous adventure story Kidnapped in New Zealand, rather than in Scotland where it was originally set.

While Robert Louis Stevenson set his tale in the rugged hills and glens of Scotland, the BBC shunned it for North Otago.

Head of BBC children's drama Elaine Sperber told the Scottish Press Association that New Zealand offered better choice.

Scotland lacked panoramic views and was littered with telegraph poles, pylons and caravans, she said.

"We felt this was a story way beyond the average television drama, so we were looking for big, panoramic views to do it justice," she told the Daily Mail newspaper.

"In Scotland, there was always a telegraph pole, a pylon or a caravan where you didn't want it."

Scottish tourism chiefs have reacted to the decision with anger, pondering aloud whether Scotland had been properly investigated as a possible location.

"We are delighted that the BBC has chosen to dramatise one of Scotland's classic novels, penned by one of our greatest literary sons," a VisitScotland spokesman said.

"However, they are promoting a film by a Scottish writer, but not in Scotland."

A BBC spokeswoman today told the Scottish Press Association the decision had primarily been dictated by money and accessibility.

"It would have cost considerably more to film in Scotland," she said.

"We looked at the budgets for both locations and it would've been practically impossible to make it in Scotland.

"It was a case of make it in New Zealand or not at all, as accommodation, travel, and production costs are all considerably cheaper there."

The accessibility of New Zealand's most beautiful scenery made filming easier than in Scotland, she said.

Scotland's popularity as a summer tourist destination would have made filming difficult, she said.

A joint BBC-South Pacific Pictures production, filming on Kidnapped started last September.

Kidnapped will consist of three one-hour episodes. It is scheduled to be shown on BBC One on Sunday.

It stars British actor Iain Glen, James Anthony Pearson, Adrian Dunbar, Gregor Fisher and Paul McGann.

Kidnapped was shot in Auckland, Queenstown, Alexandra and Oamaru.

The initial decision to film in New Zealand was called bizarre by some within Scotland's entertainment industry.

Theatre director Alasdair McCrone told Scotland's Sunday Herald the country's landscape was central to the story.

He said New Zealand had obviously become a fashionable place to film, but suspected the weather and the industry infrastructure created by mega projects such as Lord of the Rings also played a part in the move.

The BBC had also filmed The Lost World and Walking with Dinosaurs in New Zealand.

Scottish Screen, the agency which works to attract film projects to Scotland, said the BBC did not consult it about making Kidnapped in its home setting.

Location manager Belle Doyle said the BBC should have been upfront and honest about securing a cheaper deal in New Zealand.

"It's unhelpful to Scotland to say that it is covered with caravans and pylons and that it can't support these kind of panoramas," she told the Scottish Press Association.

"If Scotland is good enough for Harry Potter and the Warner Bros, then it's good enough for the BBC.

"If the real reason they've rejected Scotland is that they've found a good co-production deal, they should've come out and said it."

- NZPA