Why BBC One's Champion will be ‘a huge cultural moment’

BBC drama Champion, about two siblings fighting to get ahead in the music industry, is a celebration of black British music culture, according to the show's writer Candice Carty-Williams and star Ray BLK.

When best-selling author Candice Carty-Williams was making her first TV drama, there was one thing in particular she worried about perfecting: the music.

"I've had sleepless nights over it, as you can tell, hence the tears," the novelist says in an emotional behind-the-scenes moment on set during the filming of Champion. "But it's all paid off. Every single track has paid off."

The BBC One drama Champion, filmed in Birmingham and set in south London, tells the story of two musically-talented siblings, Bosco (played by Malcolm Kamulete, from UK crime drama Top Boy) and Vita (Déja J Bowens).

The brother and sister, from the Champion family, are both striving for success in the hypercompetitive UK music industry - but as the pressure to succeed mounts, both end up at war with each other, tearing the family apart.

The series features classic British music - from So Solid Crew's 21 Seconds to Overload by Sugababes - and original songs by UK artists including grime rapper Ghetts and BBC Sound Of winner Ray BLK.

Candice previously wrote the novel Queenie, about the life of fictional 25-year-old Jamaican-British woman Queenie Jenkins.

When it came to the TV series Champion, Candice says she spent more time working with songwriters and producers developing the music than scripting the scenes and the dialogue.

"I have incredibly high musical standards and my thing at the beginning of all of this was: the music just has to be worth it," she says. "The music has to be the thing that lifts this whole show."

Singer-songwriter Ray BLK, who is also making her acting debut as Vita's best friend Honey, says: "When I watched the episodes back, I felt, 'Oh this is going to be a huge cultural moment.'"

One of the songs Ray BLK wrote for the series, My Girl, was released as a single on 30 June.

The track, described as both neo-soul and R&B, is one of her favourites from Champion, she says, "because it's just about female friendship".

Although she wrote My Girl for Champion characters Vita and Honey, Ray BLK is especially excited about her real-life best friend Abigail hearing it for the first time because "the song is basically about her and about our friendship," she says.

"I told her about it and she was already getting emotional, so I know she's going to weep when she hears it."

For both Candice and Ray BLK, it was important for Champion to be a celebration of the diversity of black British music culture - from grime to R&B to soul to reggae - and the series includes more original music from musicians Debbie and Shola Ama.

"I want people to understand that our culture is so expansive and so wide-ranging," Candice says. "We are three-dimensional and we contain multitudes."

And in terms of the novelty of showing grime music to a mainstream BBC One audience, Candice says: "I always want to do something no-one's done before."

Ray BLK adds that everything in Champion "is very British", adding that the Champions are a "perfect depiction" of a Caribbean-British family.

"Caribbean culture is a big part of British culture now, so I love that we get to see that."

And Ray BLK believes that black British music culture deserves more recognition, both for its cultural influence and its financial impact.

"Black music needs to be acknowledged as mainstream," she says. "I hope this show will help people to see how vital it is.

"Black British music is not a fad, it's here to stay and it's making waves globally."

In 2023, black British artists Dave, PinkPantheress, Stormzy and more have scored Top 10 hits.

And Ray BLK - who says women still need more support within the UK music industry - adds that it's "an honour" for Champion to continue the legacy of earlier black British music on TV, from Channel U to MTV Base.

"I hope that 10, 15 years from now the next generation are going to be like, 'Do you remember Champion? Do you remember the music from that?'"

The mental health toll that extreme competition and industry pressure puts on musicians is one of the many themes explored in Champion.

In the first episode of the series, we see rapper Bosco hyperventilating and having a panic attack in his dressing room before having to go on stage to perform.

Describing the pressure that young artists face to succeed, Ray BLK says: "I'm pretty sure 99% of artists, if not all, feel anxious. I'm glad [Champion] shows what happens behind the scenes.

"That really is what it's like. Moments like that really do happen. Everyone's just waiting for their moment and so when you feel like it's slipped, it can really destroy you."

In Champion, Ray BLK's "witty and passionate" character Honey is LGBTQ, something she also thinks is important to highlight.

"I feel in society unfortunately those things are still sort of taboo, but I'd say particularly in the black community there's still a long way to go with changing that. And I feel shows like [Champion] will do that."

And for Candice, one fundamental theme she wanted to add through Champion's story is love.

"It's about a family, centrally," she says, "about a brother and sister and their love for each other.

"Even if you're not always getting on and there is drama and there is tension and there is pain, love is always the undercurrent of everything."

BBC images courtesy: New Pictures Ltd / Ben Gregory-Ring / Aimee Spinks