UKTV Goes for Pair of Irish Factual Series

DUBLIN/LONDON: UKTV has picked up two prime-time factual series from RTÉ Global, The High Hopes Choir and Rachel Allen’s Coastal Cooking.

Tyrone Productions' The High Hopes Choir is a series about Ireland’s first choir of homeless people. The 3×52-minute series was first broadcast in December 2014 on Ireland’s RTÉ One.

Edel Edwards, the head of sales at RTÉ Global, said: “The High Hopes Choir is an amazing and uplifting piece of television that shows what can be achieved when a great creative idea is harnessed to a real social cause. When it debuted in Ireland, it was hailed—with justification—as one of the best documentary series that RTÉ has ever made. I’m sure that UKTV’s viewers will find it as powerful and as moving as their Irish cousins.”

“In just eight weeks through 20 rehearsals and over 1,200 cups of tea and coffee, more than 60 people—all dealing with Ireland’s homeless crisis—reach beyond the stars,” said David Brophy, who conducted the choir.

UKTV has also acquired Liverpool Street Productions’ Rachel Allen’s Coastal Cooking, which will air on the Good Food Channel this fall. The 13×30-minute show, which was shot on location on the western coast of Ireland, follows the titular chef as she immerses herself in her home country’s scenery, recipes, ingredients and characters.