UKTV

Stars from Bridgerton, Bodyguard and Showtrial in first look images for The Red King

The six-part series stars Anjli Mohindra (Bodyguard) as Grace Narayan, a once successful police sergeant who has been forced into a “punishment post” on an obscure and sequestered island. When Narayan begins investigating the unsolved case of a missing teenager, what at first glance appears as a gritty police thriller, drifts into folk horror upon the unearthing of a bygone cult called True Way. Narayan comes to realise the cult, and its dedication to pagan god the ‘Red King’, are not as confined to the island’s past as it first appears.

W receives first true crime series commission from UKTV

The logo for TV channel W, namely a white 'W' against a slanted red rectangle

The eight-episode programme will detail the exploits of digital manipulators, using first-person testimony from the people they targeted. Catfishing, gaslighting and deception all take centre-stage, as the show explores the darker side of dating sites and online messaging. 

Produced by First Look TV, the hour-long programme delves into several of the tools used by manipulators, from love bombing to mirroring to breadcrumbing. 

Stacey Dooley to hit the States for a second series of sleepovers

The first series saw Dooley stay with Autumn, a 9-year-old GunTuber (someone who shares their collection of weapons on YouTube) who lives with her parents in Oklahoma, Mya and Kennedy, a transgender mother and father living in Virginia, and Cheryl and Quran, a Georgian couple with a 37 year age gap.

The new series will explore similarly modern themes, including attitudes to love, relationships, marriage, parenting and money. More information on the families and locations Dooley is visiting will be revealed in due course.

David Mitchell’s Outsiders to return for third series

Hosted by David Mitchell (Peep Show), the comics will be presented with different survival challenges to create their new civilisation. Previous tasks have included felling trees, milking goats, and writing national anthems.

Living in tents and stripped of life’s luxuries, the comedians have got one week to prove themselves as survivalists.

Executive producer Leanne Klein has promised “ever more creative challenges” in this series.

UKTV announces new W documentary series Katie Piper: Babies Behind Bars

Piper will talk to female prisoners who are trying to come to terms with what the future looks like for their children while trying to negotiate a prison term.

Over five episodes, Piper will explore the different ways women and their children are treated in the US judicial system and how they cope with the difficult prospect of having to give up their babies while they serve their time. 

From Ghosts to aliens: Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond discuss new UKTV comedy We Are Not Alone

We Are Not Alone: Laurence Rickard, Lolly Adefope and Ben Willbond at We Are Not Alone screening and Q&A

Writers and stars Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond of Ghosts and Horrible Histories fame took part in an RTS preview and Q&A for their latest comedy, We Are Not Alone. In the November ­session, they touched on the joy of creative freedom, resisting the temptation to cast themselves in plum roles, and shooting during the pandemic.

UKTV commissions Live At The Moth Club for Dave

The Moth Club in Hackney (credit: UKTV)

Set at the iconic Moth Club in Hackney, the series will showcase cinematic sketches alongside live performances from the Moth Club’s stellar comedy collective including Jamie Demetriou (Stath Lets Flats), Natasia Demetriou (What We Do In The Shadows), Ellie White (Stath Lets Flats) and Cardinal Burns (Channel 4’s Cardinal Burns), Arnab Chanda (Pls Like), Ben Ashenden (The Bubble), and Alexander Owen (Dreaming Whilst Black).

UKTV commissions The Beauty Rewind Clinic

The series will be hosted by BBC Radio 1 presenter Vick Hope and industry leader in non-surgical procedures Dr Esho. 

The pair are on a mission to get the UK back to being au naturel, but are the nation ready to give up their cosmetic procedures?

Each episode will see Dr Esho help people who want to turn back the clock on years of social media inspired procedures, supported along the way by Hope. 

The last year has seen many influencers and celebrities wishing to go more natural, dissolving their fillers and removing their implants.