BBC annual accounts: Record £75m on Welsh productions

Eve Myles stars in Keeping Faith, which had 17 million BBC iPlayer requests for the first series

Big-budget dramas including His Dark Materials and Keeping Faith contributed to a record spend by the BBC in Wales.

The BBC's Annual Report and Accounts reveal £75m was invested in Wales-based productions in 2019/20, representing 8.2% of network spend.

Two Welsh presenters - Huw Edwards and Jason Mohammad - are still among the highest earners at the corporation.

BBC Wales director Rhodri Talfan Davies said Wales had been on screens across the UK "like never before".

His Dark Materials - an adaptation of the Philip Pullman series of books - is reported to have been the BBC drama with the biggest ever per-episode budget.

It was produced by Bad Wolf at its Cardiff studios, with a second series due to be broadcast in November.

Monkey business: Ruth Wilson and friend in His Dark Materials

Other network productions made in Wales included the Bafta award-winning drama The Left Behind, and the crime drama Hidden.

A new crime series, The Pact, begins production this week.

The accounts also reveal the BBC's highest earners, including two Welsh presenters.

Huw Edwards is one of the BBC's highest earners

Huw Edwards receives an annual salary of between £465,000 and £469,999 for about 180 days of presenting TV news and election programmes.

Jason Mohammad is paid between £285,000 and £289,999 a year for presenting a show on BBC Radio Wales, as well as other BBC Wales TV commitments, UK-wide sports programming and Good Morning Sunday on Radio 2.

Both have appeared on previous lists of the highest-paid BBC stars. Any payments from the BBC's commercial arm, BBC Studios, are not included.

BBC Wales director Rhodri Talfan Davies says Wales had been on screens across the UK "like never before"

Meanwhile, Mr Talfan Davies is revealed to have an annual salary in the range of £190,000-£194,999.

"Last year saw Wales on our network screens like never before," he said.

"The creative talent-base here has produced some remarkable productions that have delighted audiences both here in Wales and across the globe.

"We're building on that and I'm delighted that we've got new drama in production which will enthral our audiences once again."

While £75m was spent on network productions that were made in Wales, the BBC spent a total of £207m on its services in Wales, including its TV, radio and online platforms.

The annual report estimates that its income from the licence fee from Welsh homes and businesses will drop to £175m in 2020, compared to £184m in 2019.