Skavlan to Air on BBC Entertainment

LONDON: The Nordic talk show Skavlan has found a new home on BBC Entertainment, which is adding the show to its summer schedule.

The series has been airing since 2009 in the Nordic region on NRK and SVT. Skavlan joins the BBC Entertainment lineup in July, airing in its spring/winter 2011 season that featured guests such as Ingmar Stenmark, Eva Dahlgren, Dave Grohl, Petter Northug, Jens Stoltenberg, Natascha Kampusch and Robbie Williams. The series will air double episodes every Friday at 9:30 p.m.

The new season of Skavlan will air on NRK and SVT this fall.

Jon Farrar, the VP of programming for EMEA at BBC Worldwide Channels, said: “I am hugely excited that Fredrik Skavlan will be appearing on BBC Entertainment in the Nordic region. At the BBC we are passionate about the quality of our channels and ensuring we continue to build our reputation as the most exciting provider of world-class, stimulating programs. When it comes to talk shows, Fredrik is simply the best in the Nordic region and has a great mix of international guests including some of the biggest names from the U.K., including Robbie Williams, Robert Plant, Bob Gelfof, Robin Gibb, Duffy and Take That. He represents everything that BBC Entertainment is about—intelligence, quality content and entertainment.”

Series host Fredrik Skavlan added: "It’s an honor to become a part of BBC Entertainment’s Friday night lineup in five countries. I have admired the BBC since I was a child and was inspired in my early years by talk-show host Michael Parkinson who was able to seamlessly combine entertainment with intelligent and probing journalism.

"Skavlan, produced for SVT and NRK, has found another safe home with another great public broadcaster. We’ve had a lot of queries from Nordic viewers outside Sweden and Norway, wondering why the show isn’t available on their TV-sets. The fact that BBC Entertainment will broadcast Skavlan in all five Nordic countries is good news to them, as well as to our regular viewers from Sweden and Norway, missing their Friday night habits."