A Birmingham delegation is set to quiz the BBC's Director General, Mark Thompson, over concerns the broadcaster is pulling drama production out of the city.

As reported in The Post in October, insiders at the Corporation's Mailbox HQ fear that production of Doctors, the last regular series to be made in the city, is being switched to Manchester as part of a major investment in the North-West.

Hopes that it might be replaced by another hospital series, Casualty, have been dashed, leaving the Second City to concentrate on lifestyle shows and occasional documentaries.

Officially, the BBC says no decision has yet been made and there is no formal announcement due until March.

However, it is estimated that 60 jobs at the Corporation's Drama Village, on the University of Birmingham's campus in Selly Oak, are at stake, and Suzie Norton, chief executive of the local film and TV agency Screen WM fears the worst.

"We have a major situation on our hands here," she said. "I've had very strong indications that as part of the move to Manchester, the BBC needs to move more content there.

"As well as losing Doctors, Dalziel and Pascoe hasn't been recommissioned and isn't likely to be, nor has the Afternoon Play series. That means the Drama Village, which was launched with such a fanfare when Pebble Mill closed down, would have nothing to do."

Salford in Greater Manchester is due to become the BBC's major production centre outside London.