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I can exclusively break the news that BBC Worldwide Channels and BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) will announce later today an increased investment in local South African programming with the first local TV series has been commissioned and which will be produced in South Africa - Come Dine With Me.
ITV's format Come Dine With Me - an agreement between ITV Studios Global Entertainment, the international distribution arm of ITV Studios - will be the first local TV series production to be filmed in South Africa and for BBC Entertainment. I can reveal that Rapid Blue will be producing the local version of Come Dine With Me and pre-production will start soon. Come Dine With Me will start its broadcast on BBC Entertainment in October and will also be shown in the Middle East, Scandinavia and Poland. The series of 10 episodes will be shot in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.
The Come Dine With Me deal was brokered by Andre Renaud, the snior sales executive for Italy, Benelux and Africa for ITV Studios Global Entertainment and Melanie Owen for BBC Worldwide Channels. Come Dine With Me follows five total strangers competing for the title of the ultimate dinner party host. Each night for a week they will take it in turn to cook up their idea of the perfect evening. As well as cooking, the rival hosts snoop around each others' houses and go to bizarre lengths to win the competition. At the end of the evening, the host is judged by their guests and scored out of ten.
''I am delighted to be bringing our first ever locally made EMEA commission to South Africa,'' says Ian McDonough, the senior vice president and general manager for the EMEA region for BBC Worldwide Channels. ''Food programming has proven to be immensely popular on our channels,'' he says. ''Creating a local version of this hugely successful British format signals our ongoing commitment to the region and to our audiences.''
''This commission represents continued significant investment in our African channels, as we strive to build rich and captivating schedules that will delight audiences across the continent,'' says Jon Farrar, the vice president for programming for the EMEA region for BBC Worldwide Channels.
South Africans will have the chance to appear on the show by applying online from today until 13 July at http://www.bbcentertainment.com/