Remy Blumenfeld

Director of Formats, ITV Studios

What are some of your top properties for MIPTV?
Along with our returning international hit formats Come Dine with Me and Four Weddings, we’ll be premiering three major new ITV1 formats to our worldwide partners at MIPTV 2010. These are The Door; which is a gripping and entertaining show starring six brave celebrities who will put their nerves on the line and take on a challenge of enduring a multitude of extreme tests, all delicately designed to instil them with gut wrenching fear, as they discover what lies behind The Door. All new entertainment format Popstar To Operstar; which is a primetime family series starring renowned singers from the pop-charts as they make the transition into performing famous operatic pieces under the direction of professional mentors, and in front of a live television audience and a panel of expert judges. We’re also incredibly excited to be premiering the upcoming ITV1 primetime entertainment format Kitchen Burnout; which for the first time an all-star cast will enter the kitchen and throw teamwork aside in favour of cutthroat competition, strategy and talent.

Why will these programs appeal to buyers?
The Door offers up a chilling cocktail of spectacle and celebrity, and promises a splash of magic and illusion.
Popstar To Operstar takes the excitement and drama of a major operatic event, and brings it together for all viewers to enjoy through a fantastically entertaining, relevant and original format. For example, who wouldn’t want to hear Marcella Detroit singing Queen of the Night!
Kitchen Burnout is about cutthroat competition; it’s about strategy and talent. There’s no teamwork in Kitchen Burnout. For the loser, there are no second chances. And nobody else to blame. We’d love to see this show firing up TV schedules all over the world.
This will be one of our best ever MIPTV format line-ups, which will include the 2009 break-out format success Four Weddings and the long-running Come Dine with Me, which recently celebrated its one thousandth episode in Germany and twentieth territory commission in Europe.

What are your goals and expectations for MIPTV?
Over the past twelve months we have increased our portfolio of international format commissions by 42%. A huge success from the U.K. market. At ITV we are lucky enough to work with some of the most talented independent television producers and format creators. We have high expectations for this market. This market we’ll be showcasing that talent and innovation with twenty all-new and exciting formats which have been tested and proven in some of the toughest TV markets in the world.