Home Commissions Two Lifestyle Shows

LONDON: UKTV’s Home has commissioned My Flat Pack Home from October Films and a second season of Gutted from TwoFour Productions.

Each episode of the 20×30-minute My Flat Pack Home will feature an individual, couple or family who have decided to design and build their own prefabricated house. Presented by former real estate agent Amanda Lamb, the series will follow the process from selecting the design, to finding out how it’s erected and outfitted with fixtures and fittings. At the end of each episode, the contributors discover whether their finished product is worth more or less than the amount they’ve spent. The show is slated for premiere in the second quarter of 2010.

October Films’ managing director, Denman Rooke, commented, “A prefabricated property is the ideal way for contemporary Britons to design, purchase and construct their dream home. The market for self-building is on the rise with more than 20,000 couples each year constructing a pre-fab home. We are excited to be a part of this new eco-friendly property wave with the UKTV network.”

Gutted, a 10×1-hour series presented by Mark Durden-Smith, watches as an unsuspecting hoarder returns home to discover that their house has been stripped bare. To gain back these items, all they have have to do is remember what they had and answer a series of relevant questions. If they get the question wrong, the item is automatically put up for auction.

UKTV’s channel head of Home and Really, Jane Rogerson, said, “These two exciting and innovative formats really stretch the property genre into new territory. My Flat Pack Home taps into the only property trend that’s actually on the rise in 2009 as prefabs appeal to every type of property buyer; first-timers who can no longer get a mortgage, those looking for more space but can no longer afford to move and those who want to build their dream home on a budget.”

UKTV’s director of factual and factual entertainment, Clare Laycock, added, “And Gutted proves that it’s possible to bring entertainment sensibilities to the property genre. By incorporating a game-show element alongside some genuine jeopardy and good dose of humor, we’ve hit upon a channel-defining format that’s popular with viewers and is starting to garner interest internationally.”