Channel 4 builds ‘The Bridge’

UK broadcaster Channel 4 has commissioned a new reality competition format, narrated by actor James McAvoy.

The five-part The Bridge is based on a format originally created by Zeppelin, a Banijay Iberia company, and being produced by Manchester-based Workerbee. It is set to air later this year.

The show will see 12 strangers come together, on the banks of a picturesque lake in the British countryside, where they must band together to build a bridge to an island 250 metres away, to reach a prize pot of £100k. However, the group has just 20 days to complete their goal and if they succeed they must decide whether they have all earned a share in the prize – or if one person is more deserving than the rest.

The original Spanish version debuted in 2017, where it is known as El Puente and aired for two successful series on Movistar+. The format also sold to France with M6.

Phil Harris, head of entertainment at Channel 4, said: “This is such an exciting first reality commission for me and the Channel 4 entertainment department. The brilliant Workerbee have conjured up the entertaining twists, comedy and drama viewers associate with classic channel 4 reality, against what might be considered a traditionally more factual backdrop.”

Rick Murray, MD at Workerbee, added, “Pulling together a show of this nature and scale in the current environment has been no mean feat but we’re raring to go and it is going to be fascinating to see if this cross section of people can work as a team even after months of lockdown.”