| MUMBAI:
UK pubcaster the BBC's commercial arm BBC Worldwide has announced that at next
week's television trade event Mipcom in Cannes, it will be bringing in two new
formats by Love Productions.
In
Kidnapped by the Kids, children of workaholics quite literally 'kidnap'
their parents and force them to spend two weeks without any contact with their
job. The programme is about life changing transformations and journeys of self-discovery.
My
Big Decision follows a group of teenage girls who are separated by age, culture
and geography, but share the same all-consuming desires. They may be set on having
a baby or plastic surgery, but it's a decision that could change the course of
their lives.
BBC
Worldwide has sold Love Productions' Baby Borrowers format to Germany,
Belgium and the Netherlands – which aired its third series this year. It
is also currently in production in India and will premier later this month on
NDTV Imagine.
Spain,
meanwhile, is the first country to open its doors to the reality show Famous,
Rich and Homeless after free-to-air broadcaster Antena3 licensed the format
from BBC Worldwide. They will make their own version using some of Spain's most
recognisable faces and will air the show in 2010. Irish
production company Kite Entertainment has also optioned Famous, Rich and Homeless
while Sky High TV in the Netherlands has picked up the original Filthy
Rich and Homeless format for Dutch broadcaster KRO. The
show features five celebrities navigating their way through the same gritty existence
that is reality to thousands of homeless people every day. Each celebrity is stripped
of their cash and possessions and dropped off in a different part of the city
where they have to survive for 10 days and 10 nights on the streets of the city. BBC
Worldwide VP for Format Licensing Europe, Middle East and Africa Claudia Danser
said, "Spain has a strong culture of celebrity and this is exactly the type
of show that will attract Spanish viewers because like most of Love Productions'
formats, this is not just about entertainment. Both formats will challenge the
audience's preconceptions of homelessness in Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands. "Both
are thought-provoking formats with plenty of touching and entertaining moments
and that is why it will appeal to audiences all over the world. We are already
talking to other broadcasters and production companies who are interested in licensing
this format for other markets." Love
Productions MD Andrew Brann says, "It is great news that both formats have
found new homes in Europe and I hope more will follow not only because they are
highly entertaining shows but also because they tackle a universal relevant social
issue." | 
