UKTV orders five broadcast pilots

UKTV will show five new factual entertainment pilots that it has commissioned for its Watch channel.

The UK digital channel operator ordered the batch of pilots for its‘Formats Lab’ strand and said that it expects to take one to series.

UKTV asked UK indies to pitch innovative fact-ent pilots and has now greenlit Seven Envelopes, Honey I Bought The House, Who Repairs Wins, Memory Slam and Supersize My Job. All are one-hour shows aside except Seven Envelopes, which is 2x30mins.

Seven Envelopes is a reality-gameshow in which seven contestants compete to open envelopes containing different cash amounts, before two go head-to-head for a £20,000 jackpot.

Honey I Bought The House, from Riverdog Productions, gives first-time house buyers £15,000 and gives one member of a couple three weeks to find their dream home, or lose the cash.

Who Repairs Wins, from UK indie CPL, pits tradesmen against one another as they compete for lucrative jobs. North One Television and Showem’s Memory Slam tells the story of youngsters at the UK Schools Memory Championships.

Supersize My Job, from Bedlam Productions, challenges participants to take on jobs at the top of their field, for example a lifeguard from a local pool taking on a job at the country’s busiest beach.

Richard Watsham, UKTV’s director of commissioning, said: “Innovative formats are hugely underserved at the moment and we’re making the most of our agility to grab this opportunity and make Watch a leader in this important area.”

He added: “I’m excited about the potential not only to take some of these ideas to series but also to make the lab a recurring event for us.”