BBC Worldwide Licenses Package of Programming to ABC TV

CANNES/SYDNEY, October 11:
BBC Worldwide has licensed a package of drama, entertainment and factual
programming to ABC TV in Australia, including a second season of Tiger Aspect’s
drama Robin Hood.

Other titles licensed from BBC Worldwide include the
6×50-minute Rough Diamond, from World Productions, which is set in the horseracing world of Co. Kildare. On the verge
of moving to Australia, trainer Aidan Docherty’s world is rocked by the arrival
of a mysterious child and a horse he takes a chance on.

ABC TV has
also picked up the new 95-minute Jane
Austen film adaptation Persuasion,
a Clerkenwell Films and WGBH production for ITV. It stars Sally Hawkins (Fingersmith) and Rupert Penry-Jones (Spooks).

The broadcaster has also secured a number of factual
titles, including the one-hour special Gorillas Revisited, in
which David Attenborough returns to the jungles of Rwanda to seek out the
gorilla family he first met 25 years ago for Life On
Earth; and the 7×50-minute Seven Ages of Rock, a BBC/VH1 co-production that charts the music that has defined
each generation from the 1960s onwards. It features The Rolling Stones, Pink
Floyd, David Bowie, The Sex Pistols, Black Sabbath, U2, The Smiths and Oasis.

Meanwhile, ABC
TV has also picked up the 3×1-hour The Retreat, produced by Tiger Aspect, in which eight British men and women
embark on a thought-provoking and life-changing journey on a Muslim retreat at
the Madrassa de Rosales in Spain. Also slated to air is Lost World of Tibet,
which reveals the extraordinary story of the Dalai Lama’s childhood.

On the kids’ front, the deal includes the 26×10-minute series The
Large Family, an Indie
Kids/Go-N Productions/Luxanimation/DQ co-production for the BBC. The series is
based on the best-selling books by Jill Murphy. And the high-rated
9×30-minute comedy My Family returns to ABC TV for its seventh season.

“This deal highlights the strength of our catalogue in Australia,”
said Amber Knight, BBC Worldwide’s senior sales manager. “We are perfectly
placed to meet the constant demand for informative and entertaining content.”