Top Gear Set for Russian Treatment

CANNES, October 14: BBC Worldwide has announced a format
deal on its hit motoring brand Top Gear
in Russia, with 15 episodes in the works for REN TV.

The local outfit MIR Reality Production will produce the
Russian adaptation of the show, in what BBC Worldwide is calling its biggest
ever deal with REN TV. This is also the BBC’s first partnership with MIR Reality,
which is on the hunt for the three presenters for the show.

The local version will premiere off the back of seasons 10,
11 and 12 of the British Top Gear at the
end of the year. The original version has sold to more than 100 markets and
there are have been a number of local versions, including in Australia on SBS.
One is in the works for NBC in the U.S.

Adam Waddell, the managing director for Top Gear at BBC Worldwide, said: “Top Gear has had quite a following in Russia for some time
and of course Top Gear magazine’s
Russian edition has been a great success since it launched in 2004. So, it’s
only appropriate that the Russian audience are getting their own version of the
show. The trio of Russian presenters and the scenery available will allow us to
make a show that feels very Russian whilst being unmistakably Top
Gear.”

—By Mansha Daswani