BBC unveil host of entertainment commissions

A number of commissions, recommissions and pilots have been announced by the BBC for 2013.

 “We are delighted to be able to announce these commissions. It is a diverse group of projects which goes from prime-time Saturday night entertainment to comedy entertainment. With the other commissions we have made this year that range really is the perfect illustration of the increasing maturity in nations and regions production. We are delighted that the conference has been so well attended again this year. It is an important forum for a really full and frank exchange of views between producers and commissioners.” Says Executive Editor Entertainment Commissioning, Alan Tyler, who commissioned the shows alongside BBC Controller Entertainment Commissioning, Mark Linsey and Channel Controllers Danny Cohen, Janice Hadlow and Zai Bennett.

Break The Safe is an eight-part 40 minute new quiz show for BBC One Saturday nights. The show sees three couples battle it out to break the safe and take up to £100,000 as a 40-minute clock counts down. The show is a Thames Scotland (part of FremantleMedia UK) production and will be shot in the pacific Quay studios. The executive producers are Suzy Lamb and Sarah Woolley.
The Sarah Millican Television Programme has been re-commissioned for a third series of seven half-hour episodes. The show, which is a So Scotland/Chopsy co-production for BBC Two, has just completed filming a second series and will TX from Christmas of this year. The executive producer is Graham Stuart.
BBC Scotland’s in-house entertainment department has been commissioned to make a six-part half-hour series of The Hoff’s best…film ever! for BBC Three. Each week, the comedy entertainment clip-show takes a different area of film from ‘action’ to ‘dance’ and sees a mix of stars and comedians running through the ingredients needed for perfection in that category. Actor David Hasselhoff will anchor the show from his HQ. The executive producer is Eileen Herlihy.
The Many faces of… BBC Two’s hugely successful biography brand produced by Green Inc has had a further re-commission, with four more shows added for 2013. The executive producer is Stephen Stewart.
Chris Ramsay’s Social network is a pilot from Avalon Scotland for BBC Three. The show will see the Hebburn star take on the week through everything that is happening in social media. The pilot will shoot at the beginning of 2013 with a series expected to follow.
Avalon Scotland has also won a development deal on a new format from Steve Williams. A key writer on Russell Howard’s Good News, Williams’ format is a comedy entertainment project built around the idea of one-upmanship. The executive producers on both projects are Richard Allen Turner, Jon Thoday and Toby Stevens.
12 Yard Scotland has also won re-commissions for Lottery shows In It To Win It and Who Dares Wins on BBC One. Executive producers are Andy Culpin and Michael Mannes.
STV and Wild Rover will work together to produce a low-cost pilot of a new 60-min format aimed at BBC One Saturday nights. The show is a combination of not only high-stakes game play, but also humour, as it involves the participation of a number of famous faces. Executive producers are Liam Hamilton, Phil Morrow and Gary Chippington.