Banijay Rights to Fund Ray Winstone Travelogue

Award-winning British actor Ray Winstone is making his factual-TV debut as the host of an upcoming travelogue series about Sicily, funded by Banijay Rights.

Ray Winstone’s World: Sicily is currently in production and is being financed by Banijay Rights, the distribution arm of Banijay Group, and producer SWR Media in association with Dash Pictures. In the show, Winstone travels Sicily with long-time friend and restauranteur Bruno Zoccola and sports broadcaster Matthew Lorenzo.

Winstone remarked, “I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world with my work, but Sicily has really got under my skin and I want to find out why—it’s something to do with the people you meet and finding a place that hasn’t been spoiled. I hope this helps people see Sicily and say ‘I want to go there.’”

Andreas Lemos, Banijay Rights’ VP of sales and acquisitions for North America, said, “We were immediately attracted to this project because of Ray’s transcendent international profile. It also felt like a distinctive, accessible take on the travel show with a really creative and entertaining entry point. Needless to say, there’s already been a lot of pre-sale interest for the show.”

Daniel Sharp, executive producer at SWR Media, commented, “The opportunity of working with Ray on his first-ever factual series, sharing in his ambitions, capturing his passion for Sicily and bringing it to viewers, is very exciting. Partnering with Banijay Rights has been great—having them on board at an early stage has been a huge help in bringing this unique and exciting project from development to screen.”