Videotaped interview with Channel Four's Deputy Commissioning Editor,
Jackie Lawrence.

This ten minute videotaped interview, intricate with highlights from Channel Four's lesbian and gay programming, was produced especially for the 7th Tokyo International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival by guest director Kris Clarke. Kris Clarke has a long history of producing
television segments and films for both Channel Four and the BBC.

Hello, Tokyo. My name is Jackie Lawrence. I'm the deputy commissioning editor of independent film and video for Channel 4. I'm also known as the "filth peddler"of Channel 4 by the British tabloids. That's because I commission lesbian and gay programming for the Channel. I'm also quite lucky because I'm probably the only lesbian in the world who could be sacked for not being a lesbian. So it's a privileged job.

We have a long history of Lesbian & Gay programming at Channel Four. Channel Four has been programming lesbian and gay programs for the last 15 years. I've actually only been here for two years, so I have inherited a great legacy of dramas, documentaries and short films.

Since I've been here I've commissioned for "Dyke TV" and a new series of lesbian and gay programs which went out this summer (1998) called "Queer Street". But my predecessor commissioned "Out" and "Out on Tuesday".

"Out on Tuesday" was actually the first-ever series of magazine-type programs for gay and lesbians in the world. It was really a breakthrough series. It came about because of a program called "Right to Reply" which invited bigots who were saying things like "kill all queers" and "get rid of all gays and lesbians from our screen".

The chief executive of Channel Four at that particular time said "No, no. gays and lesbians are a potent part of the British population and should be treated as such and there should be a series on British television for them. My predecessor held the chief executive to his word. So, in 1989 "Out on Tuesday" hit the screen and it was really well received. Each edition of "Out on Tuesday " contained about three films.

Films about every aspect of lesbian & gay lifestyle, ranging from gay men's relationship with disco, lesbian detective novels, and there was also a "video postcard" type program which filed reports on gay and lesbian lifestyles from different countries. It was the first time that all these items were actually packed together in such a way that was totally targeted to a gay and lesbian audience. Of course the straight audience had to tune in as well because they wanted to find out what they were missing. I am sure that "Out on Tuesday " was responsible for quite a few conversions from straight to queer sexuality.

The second series of "Out on Tuesday" had to have a name change because it was scheduled for Wednesday. The name chosen was "Out". "Out" ran for two series. "Out" was actually decommissioned in 1994 and it was replaced by probably my favorite zone of all time called, "Dyke TV". It was a really very special program for lesbians, and that ran for two years. Then I thought that it was probably time for boys and girls to start playing together again. I was also quite interested in how the word gay actually went from gay to queer, and it certainly was informed by a queer aesthetic and politic. Furthermore, there had never been anything queer on British television before.

So what I did was commission a program zone called "Queer Street". And you can imagine how the tabloids really loved that. Channel Four takes a walk down Queer street. The first series of "Queer Street" hit television screens last summer (1997) and received great audience and great critical acclaim, even straights liked it. Queer Street contained films about porn, of course, films about lesbian sex, of course, and films which I feel gave insight into queer life in the late 1990s.

There's another series of Queer Street which will go out this summer. It contains such diverse film subjects as a look at the muscle magazines from the 1950s and how there has been a queer appropriation of that genre. It also gives a first access insight into the most popular gay & lesbian club in London. It's very drama heavy this year, which really quite excites me. There's a film called "Like It Is" which is a brand new drama set in the heady world of Soho.

I think Queer Street consolidates Channel 4's approach to gay and lesbian programming which does not just simply focus on the gay lifestyle. Queer Street is more important than that. It contains an inherent critic of the lifestyle, it raises a lot of the issues and deals with them. It creates a very special televisual space. Some viewers would call it "ghetto television". I don't. I say that we take over the airwaves for four hours on four consecutive Saturday evenings and have a great time.

Channel Four's lesbian & gay programming isn't actually only contained to certain zones, like "Queer Street" and "Dyke TV". We are able to infiltrate the main schedule. That means we can take over a night, not just a few hours. A few weekends ago, I was able to commission a whole night of programming which was dedicated to "coming out" as a phenomenon. It brought in a massive, massive viewing figure. Now we always knew that it was going to bring in a lot of viewers, so we thought it would be really easy to get advertisers to advertise throughout the night.

But one thing we've realized is that it is actually easier to sell advertising around gay male programming, because of the power of the "Pink Pound". But around lesbian programming, which actually did inform "coming out", and also around programming that is actually proactive, which says, "look, this is a great lifestyle why don't you come and join us" The advertisers got very, very nervous and incredibly bigoted.

Of course it's not just the advertisers that we have to worry about. Apparently, for the last two years, right wing christians have been praying for my soul every Sunday, hoping to turn me into a heterosexual. You're going to have to pray a bit harder I think, 'cause I am still
queer. We do have some viewers who call up and say they are outraged every time a lesbian or gay program hits the screen. That just makes us even more resolved to get more lesbian and gay programs on television because as long as there is homophobia out there, as long as there are hate crimes, and as long as there is inequality, then it is Channel Four's purpose to inform, educate and hopefully entertain and actually change that bigotry, and change the world.

People say to me, as we come to the end of the millennium, gays and lesbians are actually winning. Well, I think, no we are not. That's why festivals like yours are extremely important in that battle. I would really, really like to thank you for inviting me and I am terribly sorry
I could not attend this year's Festival. Fortunately, there are more lesbian and gay programs to commission. I will hand you over to Kris Clarke, and I promise I will see you next year. But in the meantime, please enjoy all the Channel Four queer programs screening at your
Festival. So, Sayonnara Tokyo.