AVRO Comes on Board for BBC’s Maria Format

LONDON, December 4: The Netherlands is the first
international market to come on board for the BBC Worldwide format How Do
You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, with AVRO
set to launch the show next year.

The Dutch version will look for an actress to play Eva Perón
in a new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical Evita. The original British edition tapped Connie Fisher
to fill the role of Maria von Trapp in the West End production of The
Sound of Music. It secured an average
28-percent share on BBC One.

BBC Worldwide will co-produce the as-yet-untitled
ten-episode series with Eyeworks for a summer broadcast on AVRO TV. “Working
with Eyeworks and AVRO TV to adapt and develop the format further, BBC
Worldwide is raising the talent show stakes to new levels, taking Dutch
audiences on a thrilling ride and giving them the opportunity to choose a
new Eva Perón for a new generation,” said Colin Jarvis, BBC Worldwide’s
director of international formats.