UKTV

Channel 4 acquires Taskmaster

Greg Davies and Alex Horne (Credit: Avalon/Channel 4/Dave/UKTV)

​Initially a live show at the Edinburgh Fest Fringe, Taskmaster was originally developed with Channel 4 and then later commissioned by UKTV where it aired on Dave for nine series.

The series follows Greg Davies and show creator Alex Horne as they host a series of complex and comedic challenges that test the wit of a line-up of famous contestants.

Following the six series deal, new episodes of Taskmaster will air on Channel 4.

Channel managers and exec producers call for more diverse talent in TV at RTS Futures event

Iain Coyle, Baileigh Walsh, Rick Edwards, Maxine Watson and Sohail Shah (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

“We need more voices on telly – there’s not enough working-class people in telly and not enough diversity,” said UKTV head of comedy entertainment Iain Coyle.

“All the different voices that make up this country need to be working in television – not just the poshos who’ve been to Cambridge and Oxford,” said Sohail Shah, the MD of new indie King of Sunshine Productions.

He added: “Without new talent you don’t get any kind of progression in TV.”

Dave partners with mental health charity CALM for comedy series

The three-part series, entitled Comedy Against Living Miserably, aims to raise awareness and money for the mental health charity with comics waiving their fee as a donation to the charity.

The series builds upon Dave’s relationship with CALM since last year’s “Be the Mate You’d Want” campaign, where they encouraged viewers to spend the ad time calling or texting a friend.

David Walliams heads to the seaside for new Gold comedy

David Walliams in Bear's Mission with David Walliams (Credit: ITV)

The three-part series follows Emily Verma (Dew), a 27-year-old living the high life in London after flying the nest from her seaside hometown, Sandylands.

When Emily hears her father Les Vegas (Bhaskar) is lost at sea, she returns to her childhood home and reconnects with her old best friend Tina (Harriet Webb) and quickly befriends her oddball next door neighbours Derek Swallows (Walliams) and his wife Jeannie (Sophie Thompson).

Dad’s Army remake airs this month

Kevin R. McNally, Robert Bathurst, Kevin Eldon, David Hayman, Timothy West, Tom Rosenthal and Mathew Horne in Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes (Credit: UKTV/Gold)

To commemorate 50 years since the first broadcast of classic sitcom Dad’s Army, the three episodes lost from the BBC archive have been recreated for Gold.

The new episodes, written by David Croft and Jimmy Perry, continue from the original sitcom as bank manager-turned-squad leader Captain Mainwaring (Kevin R. McNally) takes command of a local group of Home Guards during the Second World War.

W's PR drama Flack returns for series two

Credit: UKTV

Set in London, Flack focuses on the high-stakes world of celebrity PR. It follows Mills Paulson PR agency as it works to keep their clients most outrageous indiscretions firmly behind closed doors.

Series one saw PR Robyn (Anna Paquin) finally face the consequences of her numerous addictions, as her work and home life collided catastrophically.

With her relationships damaged beyond repair, and even her own sister rejecting her, Robyn realises she needs to make a change.

Lenny Henry documentary, Race Through Comedy, coming to Gold

Lenny Henry (Credit: UKTV)

Lenny Henry’s Race Through Comedy, will chronicle and celebrate British TV comedy over the years and focus on iconic shows that have highlighted Britain’s mix of multiculturalism.

Henry is a fellow of the RTS and has previously been recognised for his work in helping to raise awareness of issues surrounding diversity within the television industry. 

RTS Scotland celebrates television talent at 2019 awards

On-screen Personality winner Sabrina Grant (Credit: Harrison Reid)

Cosgrove, who led the Scotland team that campaigned successfully to bring one of the Channel 4 hubs to Glasgow, is the latest recipient of the prestigious RTS Scotland Award.

The inaugural Writer award went to Lorna Martin, who adapted her best-selling book, Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, for television. Women on the Verge, a Merman/House Productions series, aired on UKTV channel W and RTÉ2.

Who will gain from the BBC's UKTV purchase?

W show Emma Willis: Delivering Babies (Credit: UKTV)

Contestants on UKTV channel Dave’s hit show Taskmaster have to think laterally and creatively as a series of challenges are thrown at them. Much like the BBC had to in 2017 when Discovery’s acquisition of UKTV’s co-owner Scripps triggered a clause that gave BBC Studios the option to buy out Discovery. The problem was that it lacked the cash to do so.