BBC Worldwide today announced its winter season of programming at its bi-annual Upfront event held in Johannesburg. Exclusive to DStv viewers in South Africa, BBC Lifestyle, CBeebies, BBC Earth, BBC First and BBC Brit will be showcasing premieres of new and returning series such as the highly anticipated second series of scandalous Doctor Foster and the landmark natural history series with Sir David Attenborough, Blue Planet II.
To help launch the exciting new season of content, world renowned MasterChef judge John Torode flew in from the UK to present at the event. With his judging partner Gregg Wallace, he fronts the global hit series, Celebrity MasterChef, which is broadcast in over 200 territories. The cooking competition will return to BBC Lifestyle, South Africa’s number one lifestyle channel on DStv, this August. Joining them will be with popular faces including former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips and former Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt, stepping up to see if they can handle the heat in the infamous MasterChef kitchen.
Also in attendance were rising British comedy stars Joel Dommett (Skins) and Nish Kumar (QI) to help promote the new BBC Worldwide commission for BBC Earth, Tribal Bootcamp. The funny duo travel the world from Kenya to Mongolia, visiting six diverse communities on a mission to find out how ancient tribal exercises compare to modern day fitness fads.
In addition to announcing the vast array of world class content, BBC Worldwide also announced the changes that will be introduced to their most successful channel BBC Brit (DStv channel 120), from June. To ensure that all of the content shown on the channel reflects the wants and desires of its broad audience, BBC Brit is evolving to become even bigger, better and broader as the home to great British entertainment. It will still host hugely popular series such as Top Gear and The Graham Norton Show, but will now also be the exclusive home to hit programmes including EastEnders, Strictly Come Dancing, and new drama series including The Good Karma Hospital.
Kully Kaur-Bains, Head of Programming South Africa, BBC Worldwide commented, “This winter our South African channel portfolio is overflowing with fantastic programmes that will keep the whole family entertained. From the next instalment from our BAFTA winning BBC Natural History Unit, Blue Planet II, to the return of our locally produced hit The Great South African Bake Off. We are particularly excited that our BBC First channel will be the exclusive home to star-studded premium drama series including Top of the Lake: China Girl with Elisabeth Moss and Rillington Place with the wonderful Tim Roth. Our audiences will be delighted and entertained in equal measure through our range of world class content.”
Full details of the programming can be found here www.bbcsouthafrica.com
Highlights include:
BBC Brit
Coming soon to BBC Brit, fans of British stand-up comedy can look forward to the new BAFTA winning show from the hilarious Michael McIntyre, McIntyre’s Big Show. It will have viewers in stitches and guarantees big laughs, big stars and big surprises.
For something more hard hitting, BBC Brit will also showcase a slate of shocking and thought provoking documentaries including Love and Hate Crime. The series looks at the dangers facing those who are singled out as ‘different’ in the US. These crimes polarise opinion, inflame passions and expose prejudice like no other.
BBC Lifestyle
It’s the moment every cake, bread and pie lover has been waiting for, the return of The Great South African Bake Off. Exclusively on BBC Lifestyle, the series is back for another exciting and entertaining nationwide search to find and crown South Africa’s best amateur baker.
For those who like to pry on the lives of the most fabulous, audiences can soon get front row seats to some of the world’s most phenomenal and elaborate hotels in Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby. Presented by MasterChef: The Professionals’ very own Monica Galetti and notorious restaurant critic Giles Coren, the pair travel from Nairobi to Singapore in this new and revealing six part series.
CBeebies
This June, Sarah & Duck plus all of their quacky friends are back on CBeebies. This BAFTA winning series follows the colourful pair as they embark on simple but exciting adventures, exploring their world both near and far in their wobbly and imaginative way.
BBC Earth
To mark the launch of BBC Earth’s new Being Human season of programmes, Meet the Humans is a bold new series that puts our human behaviour under the microscope. Presented by Michael Mosley and executive produced by Mike Gunton (Planet Earth II), Meet the Humans is filmed in a plush country house rigged with surveillance cameras and follows a group of unwitting test subjects.
Also part of the Being Human season is new BBC Worldwide commission Tribal Bootcamp. Fronted by the side splittingly funny pair Joel Dommett and Nish Kumar, they travel the length and breadth of the world, testing western fitness against some of the toughest and longest standing tribes in history.
BBC First
Chilling to the bone, Hollywood heavyweights Tim Roth (The Hateful Eight) and Samantha Morton (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) star in this true-life drama series about notorious serial killer John Reginald Christie.
Guaranteed to make you laugh, new comedy series Mum will be coming to BBC First this May. Starring Olivier Award winner and BAFTA nominee Lesley Manville, audiences can look forward to chuckling at the awkward yet hilarious lives of a mother and her grown up family.
