More Jamie Oliver, Gypsy Weddings for C4

LONDON: Channel 4 has ordered Jamie’s Great Britain, featuring celebrity chef Jamie Oliver as he travels the country exploring the stories behind British ingredients and dishes, as well as a second season of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.

Each episode of the 6×1-hour Jamie Oliver series will focus on a different city or region, with Oliver meeting local producers and celebrating regional dishes. The show, produced by Fresh One Productions, is set for the fall, with a book to accompany the series being published by Michael Joseph on September 30. Dominique Walker, Channel 4’s factual entertainment commissioner, said: "In Jamie Does… we saw Jamie Oliver traveling across Europe to experience local cultures through their food. In this new series we see him traveling across Britain, to discover the fascinating stories of how our own food, the dishes we think of as traditionally British, are actually a product of the rich melting pot of cultures that have made our country what it is today. The series will be part travelogue around our native isles and part social history of our cuisine, as well as containing many delicious and accessible recipe ideas from Jamie himself."

C4 has also picked up a second season of the doc series Big Fat Gypsy Weddings. The first season of the show, which aired earlier this year, averaged 9.1 million viewers over five episodes. From Firecracker films, the series spotlights members of traveling communities such as Irish travelers, English Gypsies and Romany Gypsies. The new 6×1-hour season is to air in early 2012.

Tina Flintoff, Channel 4’s factual entertainment commissioning editor, said: "Big Fat Gypsy Weddings was a phenomenon. It would have been very easy for us to just commission more of the same but we wanted to enhance the series by adding more journalism and offering an even deeper insight into the gypsy and traveler way of life without losing what makes the show accessible—the weddings, christenings and spectacular celebrations."

The show’s executive producer, Jes Wilkins, added: "We are excited about the creative challenge of how to follow up such a successful series. We are extremely grateful to all the gypsies and travelers who have opened up their lives to us over the last two years and we look forward to cultivating more relationships going forward."