BBC Worldwide announced on July 18 its first format deal with Danish terrestrial broadcaster TV2 Fri who will produce their own version of Sewing Bee.
The format from Love Productions, who also created The Great Bake Off, follows a nationwide competition to find the country’s best amateur sewer via tense, time-limited challenges and is licensed internationally by BBC Worldwide.
Suzanne Kendrick, Acting Head of Formats BBC Worldwide said, “It’s great that the Sewing Bee format is continuing its global success with another local version now starting production in Denmark. We are also very excited to be working with TV2 Fri for the first time on a format deal and hope that the partnership will prove successful with this very popular show.”
Anette Romer, Head of Acquisitions & Formats for TV2 Denmark said: “We are very excited about selecting Sewing Bee for TV 2 Fri, a perfect match for a channel devoted to a wide array of nature and lifestyle programming. Sewing Bee will tap into the growing focus on back-to basics craftsmanship, and structuring it as a competition enhances how ambition and striving for perfection go hand in hand with sharing great how-to tips.”
Local versions of the sewing smash have already been agreed in France (produced by BBC Worldwide Productions France for channel M6), Norway (NRK) and Sweden (licensed to broadcaster TV4 to air on channel Sjuan).
BBC Worldwide has recently announced a spate of format deals in France. BBC Worldwide Productions France is producing Antiques Roadshow, one of the BBC’s longest running series, for France 2, and has partnered up with Banijay Productions France as co-producers for the classic game show The Weakest Link for French DTT channel D8. The Paris production base is also working with independent production company NEWEN to adapt the award-winning drama Last Tango in Halifax for the French market.
Elsewhere, the rise in scripted formats is continuing as Luther is set to be remade for Russian television; the series has been licensed from BBC Worldwide to production company Sreda for broadcast on Channel One. BBC Worldwide’s most successful format Dancing with the stars has recently been sold to Romania for Antena 1, and the most watched factual programme in the world Top Gear has been licensed to China’s Honyee Media for Dragon TV.
