Satellite channel Sky1 has acquired UK rights to wedding format Don’t Tell the Bride, after previous broadcaster the BBC decided to dump it ahead of BBC Three’s move to a digital-only brand.
Sky-owned general entertainment channel Sky 1 has ordered two seasons, comprising 24 episodes. Warner Bros. Television Production-UK owned Renegade will produce.
The format, which DRG sells internationally, sees grooms organising their entire wedding without consulting the bride.
“Charting wedding dramas for nigh on a decade, Don’t Tell the Bride is best in class family-friendly entertainment and a British TV institution to boot,” said Sky1 director Adam MacDonald (pictured). “Many of our customers are already huge fans of the show so we’re delighted to be giving the brand-new series a home on Sky 1.”
Don’t Tell the Bride ran on youth-skewed net BBC Three for eight seasons, before transferring to BBC One last year, with the new version widely derided after taking a broader, older-skewed approach.
This came as the BBC moved formats off BBC Three ahead of the latter’s now confirmed switch from a linear channel to a digital brand.
There are few reality shows left on BBC Three, with focus switching to dramas such as Thirteen, comedies including Murder in Successville and documentaries including Professor Green: Suicide and Me and Is Britain Racist?.
Once online, the channel plans to spend 80% of its budget on long-form drama and comedy shows, with the other 20% going on experimental ‘new form’ content.
