Channel 5 launches new progamming slate

UK commercial broadcaster Channel 5 has announced a raft of new commissions and international acquisitions including a new kids series Hippo’s House.

However, the broadcaster denied reports that it was bringing back Endemol’s reality series Big Brother.

The Northern & Shell-owned network is launching Hippo’s House, which is produced by Scottish indie and So What’s The Story Balamory-produced Tattiemoon, for its successful kids block, run by Jessica Symons.

It is has also commissioned Lion TV’s lesbian reality series Candy Bar Girls, Gogglebox and Group M-produced magic series Impossible?, Blink Films’ cooking series Mexican Food Made Simple, Tiger Aspect’s Paul Merton’s Great Escapes, Artists in Motion’s wildlife series Tarsier Towers, Matchlight’s So You Think You Can’t Drive, Special Edition’s Essex Jungle and Ginger’s Walking The Amazon.

The channel will also be airing zombie series The Walking Dead after striking a free-to-air deal with eOne.

Jeff Ford, director of programmes, Channel 5, said: “The investment is now appearing and we’ll see that in the next few months.”

He added that the network was in discussions with Sony Pictures for the third season of US drama Breaking Bad. “We’re in negotiations with Sony about season three. It’s about expectations on price,” he said.

But he wouldn’t discuss reports that it had closed a deal with Endemol to air a new version of Big Brother, which originally aired on Channel 4. “I don’t think there’s anything to say about that,” he said.