BBC Worldwide Channels has commissioned two new TV shows, Bill's Kitchen: Notting Hill for BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) which South African viewers will see from June 2013, and Stargazing Live for BBC Knowledge (DStv 184) which South African viewers will see early in 2013.
Bill's Kitchen: Notting Hill is ten 50 minute episodes following Bill Granger, an Australian cook who travels the globe looking for culinary inspiration for his restaurant in London.
Stargazing Live will be broadcast on BBC Knowledge early next year as an astronomical event for global audiences, anchored by Dara O Briain. It will comprise three themed episodes, each 50 minutes long, broadcast from the control room of the Jodrell Bank radio observatory in Cheshire.
Each of the episodes will focus on a different area of astronomical interest and discussion – Mars, Earth and The Big Bang. Professor Brian Cox, the renowned astronomer Mark Thompson and Liz Bonnin will report on different topics from around the world.
"These two new projects are prime examples of our strategy to produce programming with global appealwhich complements our current slate," says Tracy Forsyth, the vice president of commissioning for BBC Worldwide Channels.
"Stargazing will be a great way for our viewers around the world to share in a landmark event, presented by some of Britain's best talent. We are one of the only networks in the world that can deliver these global moments and I'm glad to be working with the BBC's in-house team to give a worldwide platform to one of the United Kingdom's biggest television events."
"Bill Granger is a great talent who can truly represent a global style of cooking. An Australian, now based in West London, who constantly traverses the world in search of inspiration, Bill will fire our international audiences' imaginations with his distinctive brand of fusion food. I'm delighted to be working with Furneaux and Edgar productions who will do a great job of bringing the flavour of Bill's lifestyle to the small screen," says Tracy Forsyth.