News round-up: Channel 4 orders Paula Yates doc; BBC returns ‘The Traitors’; TF1 & CBC in ‘House of Windsor’ deals

Paula

Channel 4 orders Paula Yates doc

UK broadcaster Channel 4 has ordered a two-part docuseries about the life and death of British TV personality Paul Yates.

Produced by Curious Films, Paula (2 x 60-minutes) draws on a set of never-before-heard interviews with those who knew her best and a wealth of archive to tell her story in her own words.

As a TV presenter, journalist and author famed for her sharp wit and flirty charm at the helm of The Tube and The Big Breakfast, Paula Yates interviewed everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Robbie Williams. She sat at the heart of pop culture and dominated the airwaves and headlines for two decades.

Yet Paula’s own fierce, funny, intelligent spirit alongside her incredible skill as a television presenter has been largely written out of history by a tabloid press which viewed her instead through the prism of the men in her life – Sir Bob Geldof, and the man they accused her of leaving him for – Michael Hutchence.

Shaminder Nahal, head of specialist factual at Channel 4, said: “Paula Yates exploded onto our screens in the very first week that Channel 4 came on air in 1982, a whirlwind of wit, verve and charisma – a totally unique style.

“Looking at what she achieved now, it feels like no-one has ever quite matched her as a TV presenter. So as Channel 4 reflects on 40 years, it feels right to look at her life and career, and what an impact she made.”

The Traitors

BBC returns ‘The Traitors’

UK pubcaster the BBC has commissioned reality competition The Traitors for a second season.

Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the format follows 22 strangers as they play the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust, in the hope of winning up to £120,000.

Produced by Studio Lambert Scotland for BBC One and BBC iPlayer, the second series of The Traitors has been commissioned by Kalpna Patel-Knight, head of entertainment commissioning for the BBC.

“Last year’s ambitious and bingeable hit The Traitors with Claudia Winkleman is coming back with the brilliant team at Studio Lambert set to bring viewers another magnificent series full of drama and suspense. We can certainly expect even more deceit and psychological games for the Traitors and the Faithfuls,” said Patel-Knight.

The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor

TF1 & CBC in ‘House of Windsor’ deals

A slew of global broadcasters have acquired factual series The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor, following deals with distributor All3Media International.

TF1 has picked up the show for France and French-speaking territories, while further European deals have been concluded with CLT-UFA for the Netherlands and Flemish-speaking Luxembourg, with RTL Television for Austria and Germany, with DR in Denmark, SVT in Sweden and TV2 in Norway.

Across the rest of the world, deals have been struck with CBC covering English speaking Canada and Radio-Canada covering French speaking Canada in addition to OSN in the Middle East and with SBS in Australia.

Produced by 72 Films for ITVX in the UK, the 5 x 60-minute series aims to capture the human drama of Britain’s greatest remaining dynasty.

Sky NZ & Discovery Asia strike factual deals

Sky in New Zealand and Discovery Asia are among those to pick up a range of factual titles in deals struck by Harbour Rights.

Building Bastille (1 x 52-minutes) and La La La, A Story Of Musicals (1 x 52-minutes), both produced by 2 Arts, have been picked up by Sky New Zealand.

Meanwhile, MBS series Tokyo Noodle Factory (6 x 26-minutes), Danger-Less Detectives (8 x 24-minutes) and Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories (10 x 30-minutes) are headed to airlines British Airways, Qatar Airways, American Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

Discovery Asia has acquired the three latest 52-minute episodes of Flavors, as well as one-off special Masters Of Luxury Teas, while in Singapore, VOD platform Qalbox has taken Inside Islam 7 x 52-minutes, and Al Jazeera 101 East has licensed Kim Yo Jong, The Red Princess (1 x 52-minutes).