Channel 4 Commissions International Dating Show

Channel 4 has ordered a new international dating series from 2LE Media, Motion Content Group and Zeppelin, a Banijay Iberia company.

The tentatively titled The Language of Love will see a group of Brits and a group of Spaniards residing at a dreamy Spanish country estate to see if they can find romance—despite not speaking each other’s language. It will be hosted by Davina McCall alongside Spanish TV host, actor and singer Ricky Merino.

The eight-part series is set in Andalusia and is slated to broadcast on Channel 4 in 2022.

Banijay is the exclusive distributor, holding global format and distribution rights.

Channel 4’s head of entertainment and events, Phil Harris, commented: “This is a truly fresh and entertaining dating experiment that throws up surprising cultural exchanges, hilarious linguistic mishaps and red-hot holiday romances all overseen by the original queen of reality, Davina, and her wonderful Spanish counterpart, Ricky.”

Tom Thostrup, co-founder of 2LE Media, added: “In this series, we want to give our international singles the ultimate holiday romance and see if they can hurdle the language barrier to build a potential life-changing relationship, with Davina and Ricky willing them to succeed all the way.”

Martin Oxley, executive producer for Motion Content Group, said: “After a few years off from foreign travel, most of us have probably forgotten how to ask the way to the beach in Spanish. Motion couldn’t be more delighted to brush up its language skills with Davina and Ricky, 2LE, Banijay and Channel 4 with this clever and truly laugh-out-loud new series.”

Amparo Castellano, general director of Zeppelin, added: “We all know how powerful love and attraction is, and this new format takes the dating genre to the next level, truly exploring whether singletons can communicate when speaking different languages. It’s been a highly entertaining concept to develop and co-produce with 2LE and Motion, and we’re sure our international colleagues at Banijay will have success bringing this format to other markets around the world.”