Fort Boyard to Get Kids’ Treatment for Disney XD, CiTV

LONDON: The U.K.’s CiTV has commissioned its own kids’ version of Zodiak Media’s hit adventure game-show format Fort Boyard that will also roll out on Disney XD channels across the globe.

The kids’ version, Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge, will premiere on Disney XD in the U.S. and CiTV in the U.K. Rollout on international Disney XD feeds, excluding France and the Nordics, will follow thereafter. Zodiak Kids brokered the licensing deal with Disney XD.

The new treatment will shot in the same production hub that has been used for the traditional versions of the show produced for broadcasters across the globe. It will be presented by Geno Segers (Disney XD’s Pair of Kings) and Laura Hamilton (Dancing On Ice, Toonattik). The Zodiak Media Group production companies The Foundation and Adventure Line Productions, who created the concept and have been producing the show for 22 years, are on board for the new version.

Nigel Pickard, CEO for the Middle East, Africa, Australasia and the U.K. in the family and kids’ division at Zodiak Media Group, noted, “Fort Boyard is the epitome of quest programming and we can’t wait to let kids join in for the first time in this ultimate adventure game show. We are very excited to be producing the series in partnership with Disney and CiTV to bring Fort Boyard to a whole new audience.”

Franck Firmin Guion, the CEO of Adventure Line Productions, added: “Set in an unrivaled location, Fort Boyard is a successful, unique, innovative and ever-evolving format. Aiming at kids for the first time, this collaboration with Disney and CiTV, adds to the extensive list of international versions that have been produced for more than 20 years. We now hope to open the doors of the Fort to as many kids as possible, from all over the world.”

Jamila Metran, the program manager at CiTV, commented: “The series will encapsulate all of the exciting challenges that the show is renowned for and I am sure kids and parents alike will delight in watching the revival of such a famous format which will premiere on CiTV in the U.K.”