MUMBAI: The UK pubcaster BBC?s expenses and central bookings in the first quarter ended 30 June 2012 are up one per cent from a quarter earlier but down by eight per cent from a year earlier, the broadcaster said in its expenses disclosures.

Taxi costs in particular have come down by 20 per cent this quarter and are down 57 per cent since it began publishing expenses details in 2009.

The pubcaster adds that it is committed to providing more transparency in how it is spending the licence fee and this is its 13th expenses disclosure.

A BBC spokesperson said, "Expenses have risen by one per cent this quarter but are down by eight per cent on the previous year. They remain within a range that is proportionate to running a media organisation of this size. We continue to be mindful of how we spend public money and to drive down costs wherever possible."

The BBC has been publishing the salaries and expenses of the most senior managers since Autumn 2009.

MUMBAI: This Christmas, UK pubcaster The BBC?s religious programming goes behind the scenes of one of Britain?s most treasured places of worship - Westminster Abbey.

Actor David Suchet will embark on a personal journey following in the footsteps of St Paul; writer and historian Simon Sebag Montefiore will explore Rome, the Eternal City; and, as he prepares to step down as Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams will intimately reveal the beauty and heritage of Canterbury Cathedral.

Live worship on BBC One comes from St Anne?s Cathedral, Leeds and St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol. And BBC Radio 4 will herald the start of Christmas Day with a live broadcast from Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.

BBC Commissioning Editor Religion and Head of Religion & Ethics Aaqil Ahmed said, "As we prepare for Christmas, it is befitting that Westminster Abbey is at the heart of our celebrations given it?s unique stature at the centre of national worship in this country. Throughout the Christmas period there will also be a diverse rich mix of traditional carols, festive music, contemplation, conversation and live worship across BBC Television and Radio.

Christmas preparations start on BBC One on Sunday mornings, with the return of ?Fern Britton Meets?, the series in which Fern talks to people in the public eye about their faith. Throughout the Advent season, ?Songs Of Praise? presents four special programmes. On Advent Sunday, Sir Derek Jacobi and Sheila Hancock herald the start of the season with a selection of poems and readings that focus on the preparation for Christ?s birth.

In ?Wartime Christmas?, Aled Jones visits Holy Cross Church in Greenford, Middlesex, a building conceived on the eve of the Second World War and completed in 1941.

Also in the run up to the festive period is a two-part series on BBC One - ?David Suchet: In The Footsteps Of St Paul?, which follows the actor as he goes on a personal journey in search of this enigmatic man and his mission.

BBC One will herald the start of Christmas Day with the traditional Midnight Mass, live from St Anne?s Cathedral in Leeds.

On the Sunday after Christmas, in Celebrating 2012 Big Sing, Alfie Boe and soprano sensation Laura Wright are the guest soloists to join 5,000 voices in the Royal Albert Hall for spectacular hymns that reflect this historic year for the United Kingdom. Aled Jones meets Olympic gold medalists Helen Glover and Heather Stanning and there?s a special performance by the Songs of Praise Senior School Choir of the Year from St George?s College in Weybridge.

And on New Year?s Day BBC One will broadcast the Archbishop of Canterbury?s annual New Year?s Message.

Next month, BBC Two presents Westminster Abbey, a three-part series that takes a behind-the-scenes look at one of Britain?s most historic institutions, following the rhythm of the liturgical calendar from Candlemas to preparations for Christmas. Featuring interviews with members of the 250 staff who oversee the Abbey?s spiritual mission, to ensure the upkeep of a World Heritage site and co-ordinate 1,500 services a year.

On Christmas Eve, BBC Two presents Carols From King?s. This traditional celebration of the birth of Christ is the television programme that for many marks the true start of Christmas. The sight and sound of a lone choirboy singing Once in Royal David?s City amid the candlelit fan-vaulted splendour of the Chapel of King?s College, Cambridge is the beginning of a feast of Christmas words and music. The Christmas story is told in the words of the King James? Bible and in poems by Rainer Maria Rilke, William Austin and Laurie Lee, and the world-famous Chapel Choir, under the direction of Stephen Cleobury, sing carols old and new, including The Holly and the Ivy, Good Christian Men Rejoice and The Angel Gabriel.

For BBC Four in a new three-part series, Rome: A History Of The Eternal City, historian Simon Sebag Montefiore, uncovers the central role played by religion in creating and maintaining the power of the city of Rome, from its foundations to the modern day. From its founding myth and its pagan gods whose actions dictated the politics of ancient Rome, to the time that a new cult from the East threatened the status quo - Christianity.

MUMBAI: BBC and HBO have announced that ?Family Tree?, a new eight-part comedy series co-written and co-created by filmmaker Christopher Guest ?Best In Show? and Jim Piddock and starring Chris O?Dowd ?Bridesmaids?, is in production in the UK.

The show is being directed by Guest. Filming will continue until early next year on location in the UK and Los Angeles, to air on BBC Two and HBO next year.

Chris O?Dowd will be joined by Nina Conti ?For Your Consideration? in the role of his sister Bea, and Tom Bennett The Hunt For Tony Blair? playing his best friend Pete.

?Family Tree? follows the world and journey of 30-year-old Tom Chadwick (Chris O?Dowd). Having recently lost his job and girlfriend, Tom has a rather unsure sense of his own identity. But when he inherits a mysterious box of belongings from a great aunt that he never met, he starts investigating his family lineage and uncovers a whole world of unusual stories and characters and a growing sense of who he is and who his real family are.

?Family Tree? will be a single-camera, improvisational, documentary-style comedy, a style that Christopher Guest?s films have pioneered.

BBC Two controller Janice Hadlow said, ?I am delighted to welcome Christopher Guest to BBC Television. It will be his first television series for British audiences and one I am proud to have here on the BBC. It has a stellar cast led by the fantastic Chris O?Dowd and is an exciting collaboration with NBCU International and HBO. Family Tree will form a key part of the channel?s comedy next year.?

MUMBAI: The BBC Trust has appointed Tony Hall - Lord Hall of Birkenhead - as BBC DG following the departure of George Entwistle.

Lord Hall is currently Royal Opera House CEO. He was Chairman of the board for the Cultural Olympiad and was head of BBC News and Current Affairs from 1996 to 2001. He was a digital pioneer, launching BBC News Online, as well as Radio 5 Live, BBC News 24 and BBC Parliament. At present he is Deputy Chairman of Channel 4.

Lord Hall is expected to start in early March and in the interim period Tim Davie will remain as Acting Director-General.

BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten said, "While there are still very serious questions to be answered by the on-going inquiries, it is in the interests of licence fee payers that the BBC now starts to refocus on its main purpose ? making great programmes that audiences love and trust.

"In doing this it will need to take a long, hard look at the way it operates and put in place the changes required to ensure it lives up to the standards that the public expects. Tony Hall is the right person to lead this.

"Tony Hall has been an insider and is a currently an outsider. As an ex-BBC man he understands how the Corporation?s culture and behaviour make it, at its best, the greatest broadcaster in the world.

"But perhaps most importantly, given where we now find ourselves, his background in news will prove invaluable as the BBC looks to rebuild both its reputation in this area and the trust of audiences."

Lord Hall will take up the post on a salary of ?450,000 per year.

Lord Hall said, "This organisation is an incredibly important part of what makes the United Kingdom what it is. And of course it matters not just to people in this country ? but to tens of millions around the world too."

The appointment was made following a direct approach from the BBC Trust to Lord Hall. The Trust did not approach any other candidates. Lord Hall did not apply for the job when it last became vacant as a result of Mark Thompson?s departure.

Entwhistle had to leave after allegations of child sex abuse done by late BBC television star Jimmy Saville came out. There was also a Newsnight report that had wrongly implicated a politician in child sex abuse.