BC Worldwide has acquired the format rights for Sewing Bee, from the creators of The Great British Bake Off, Love productions, ahead of MIPCOM 2013. The Great British Sewing Bee, which has been re-commissioned for a second series, won an average three million viewers and outperformed BBC Two’s primetime average share by 70% (amongst All Individuals 4+). The Sewing Bee format follows a nationwide competition to find the country’s best amateur sewer via three tense, time-limited challenges.
Elin Thomas, BBC Worldwide’s Director of Global Formats, commented, “The Great British Sewing Bee is already well on the way to replicating the phenomenal UK ratings success of The Great British Bake Off, and the format has the same universal appeal that’s already helped The Great Bake Off sell so well for us. We’re really excited to add this title to a wide-ranging slate of formats with huge international potential.”
Another new format is That Puppet Game Show, the BBC’s new family entertainment collaboration with the Jim Henson Company. A launch event for That Puppet Game Show will take place on October 8, 2013 with puppet host Dougie Colon in town to meet international broadcasters, along with Katie Taylor, UK Controller of Entertainment and Events, BBC Production. That Puppet Game Show pits two celebrities against each other in a mix of mental and physical games, as they compete to win a cash prize for their chosen charity. On set, various puppet characters set the challenges and interact with the guests, while viewers also get a glimpse backstage to see how these temperamental puppets put the show together.
That Puppet Game Show
Also new on the formats slate for Cannes are two original commissions for BBC Worldwide’s channels. Best in Town, devised by Richard Bacon’s Mox Productions, is a funny, highly competitive format in which small business owners battle it out to be named the local leaders in their chosen field, over two rounds scored by each other and a third by an industry expert. Million Dollar Intern, also originated for broadcast on BBC Worldwide’s global channels, taps into the creativity and dynamism of a new generation of young entrepreneurs. This factual entertainment format sees young tycoons from around the world go undercover for a week to revive the fortunes of failing businesses.
Another new format set to make its MIPCOM debut is Why Don’t You Speak English?, a brave, warm and often humorous series in which four first-generation immigrants attempt to learn the language of their adopted country taught by a local.
BBC Worldwide is also bringing scripted format Twenty Twelve, the critically-acclaimed mockumentary about a team pulling together a major world sporting event, in this case the London Olympics.
Rounding off the slate are established formats The Great Bake Off, Antiques Roadshow, Beat the Pack, Chefs: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, Junior Doctors – Your Life in Their Hands and Mastermind.
