Behind the scenes with Songs of Praise

Songs of Praise has been going for 40 years and remains at the heart of the BBC’s Religious Broadcasting. So when it was announced the crew were recording at Blenheim Palace, editor Rebecca Paveley and photographer Frank Blackwell turned up early to catch a glimpse of how the show was put together…

It is early in the morning when we arrive at Blenheim, yet the sun is blazing and the BBC crew are already hard at work. In the middle of the palace courtyard, an elaborate mock Roman stage is being set up. Girls dressed in black, talking into handsets, race around importantly. The dressing truck for the stars is in place and Aled Jones’ private car parking space is filled with a large 4 x4, though the presenter himself is nowhere in sight, yet. The Songs of Praise crew have been in Oxfordshire for four days already, staying in Woodstock. I later discover that Aled has stayed overnight for just one night, choosing instead to drive back to London each night to his wife and 2 year old daughter. They are all now familiar with the Palace and the town. ‘Its a fantastic location for Songs of Praise,’ says Aled later. ‘I interviewed Jamie Blandford earlier in the week, and the Duke gave me a tour of the Palace.’ It was Jamie Blandford’s idea for the show to come to Blenheim as part of the 300th anniversary celebrations of the Battle of Blenheim. He first suggested it to the Rector of Woodstock, Roger Humphreys, 18 months ago. Both he and Roger then wrote to the series producer of Songs of Praise, Michael Wakelin. Michael says he jumped at the idea. It seems a long way in advance to start planning the show, but those 18 months were needed, he says. ‘With big events like this, when we are having congregations of 4,000 plus, big stars like Chris de Burgh and Katherine Jenkins, you need all the time you can get.’ Star names Katherine is sitting in the BBC catering room, which is set up in one of the rooms off the courtyard. Her hair in elaborate curls, she is calm and chatty. Only 24, she is used to publicity as a former winner of BBC Wales Choirgirl of the year. She is surrounded by her mother and sister, as well as her agent, but all are friendly and very happy to be working with Songs of Praise. Niki, Katherine’s agent, says she has been trying for a while to get her on the show and that she has other well-known singers on her books, eager to follow in her footsteps. The increasing number of stars featured in the show is one of a number of changes that seems to have come in in recent years. And increasingly now the presenters are stars in their own right, even before they start work with the BBC – such as Olympic gold medallist Jonathan Edwards, a committed Christian, whose leap from athletics to front of camera has been seamless and hugely successful. Michael Wakelin is clearly very proud of his team of presenters. He says he now has a huge number of star guests to choose from, all wanting to appear on Songs of Praise. The problem, as always, is money. ‘Our budget has been halved in the last 10 years, but we have as many programmes to fill as ever. Our slot is always being messed around with as well – one week we are on BBC1 at 5, the next week its BBC2 at 4.20 and we get hardly any warning. I wish people would write in and complain. Messing around with our slot annoys our regular viewers and has an impact on our audience figures.’ Money is one reason why the show does less of the more intimate parish visits, and more of the big showcase events. ‘It sounds mad,’ says Michael. ‘But it is actually more expensive to film the show in a parish than it is to do something like this. Its all to do with lighting and technical stuff.’ Rehearsals As we have been speaking, the crew have been hard at it. The bandstand, where the soloists and musicians will perform, is nearly finished in the centre of the courtyard. Some chairs have been set out, as guides for rows so that the congregation can add their own folding chairs alongside. The floor manager, Geoff Sluggett, is briefing people from Woodstock who have turned up to act as stewards for the 4,000 congregation. They are all members of Roger Humphrey’s church and are happy to help – until they realise that despite the 30 degree heat they have to wear luminous yellow jackets! Their job is to get the congregation seated and leave room for the camera crews to zoom up and down aisles, capturing footage. St John’s ambulance are also in place, ready to deal with complaints (and there are many) of wasp stings and sunstroke. Rehearsals are now underway. The choir – all members of local churches – are put through their paces for an hour, before the stars get their chance to try out the set. I had earlier caught just a glimpse of Chris de Burgh, surrounded by his minders. Now, however, he strolls on stage, to loud applause from the seated choir. He is the only artist not to be performing live, and has to wait while his soundtrack is put in place. While he waits, he gives his eager listeners an imprompu couple of lines, without backing track or singers – and is greeted by a roar of appreciation. He tells Aled Jones that he sings for ‘the glory of God’. It is now heating up and the congregation are arriving early. The crew disappear off for tea and a break, before recording starts at 4pm. Aled Jones jollies along those wilting in the heat as we are made to sing each hymn several times before the producer is satisfied. The courtyard is packed with people of all ages. The cameras scan the aisles. We are told to keep smiling and look up – or the camera will ignore us. I’m sure the camera is peering at me as a wasp stings my hand, so I struggle to maintain my smile. The final Blessing Recording takes three hours, but despite the intense heat, everyone remains cheerful. Almost last up on stage is Roger Humphreys, who is giving the final blessing. He told me earlier he’d practised it as that morning’s 8am service in Woodstock and he confidently repeats it in front of the cameras. There is a pause, and then we learn that the sound was wrong and Roger has to do it again. He does – and his blessing is completely different! He was doing it off the cuff, he explains to laughs. So the recording comes to an end and the crowd disperses. It has been a joyful day, truly a celebration. Now we’ll just have to wait to see if our smiles merited a quick glance from the cameras! Songs of Praise from Blenheim will be broadcast on September 12 2004.