Catching

Just a mild warning. If you tune on for His Dark Materials on BBC1 tonight AND get hooked, you could be tied up for some time.

Series 2 is nearly through post-production, so that's 16 episodes. Producer Jane Tranter wants to split Philip Pullman's third book into two series. Then there's Pullman's next trilogy, The Book of Dust. All this might turn Tranter's very big shed, Wolf Studios, on an industrial estate just north of Cardiff Docks, into a rival for The Game of Thrones' success in Northern Ireland. It might mean more passing trade for neighbours the Mambo Play Centre and the BSS pipe warehouse.

The production is co-funded by HBO in the States, who launched episode 1 on Monday. Tranter also has money from Len Blavatnik's Access TV, led by former BBC1 Controller Danny Cohen.