Thursday 16 April, 2015

Dave's Election Night Special follows The Pub Landlord's 'Common Sense Revolution' as he stands for the hotly contested constituency of South Thanet.

UKTV's award-winning channel Dave has scooped exclusive access to Al Murray, The Pub Landlord's election campaign, commissioning a one-off special by award-winning film-maker Amanda Blue (Prescott: The Class System and Me). The 1x90, film from Liberty Bell Productions (The Alastair Campbell Diaries and Portillo on Thatcher: The Lady's Not For Spurning) will follow The Pub Landlord's entire campaign as he seeks election to parliament in the hotly contested Kent constituency of South Thanet, also the target of UKIP leader Nigel Farage.

The Pub Landlord is standing against all the established political parties as the sole candidate for his Free United Kingdom Party (FUKP). Featuring exclusive fly-on-the-wall access on the campaign trail, including run-ins with voters and rival candidates, behind-closed-doors meetings with The Guv's most trusted political advisors, and all the inevitable personal highs and lows of a rollercoaster campaign. The special will air on Dave as the polls close on Election Night (7 May, 10pm) offering an alternative perspective on the general election as viewers await the first results.

Richard Watsham, Director of Commissioning for UKTV, said,

This documentary is an important step for Dave as we continue to broaden our offering and raise the ambitions of our originations. This is a bold statement about the direction of travel for commissions on Dave. I'm particularly pleased that The Pub Landlord has chosen to share his extraordinary story exclusively with our viewers.

Steve North, General Manger for Dave, added,

There has been incredible interest and excitement around the Pub Landlord since he announced his intention to stand as a candidate for South Thanet and the chance for Dave to cover this campaign is an amazing opportunity. Dave viewers will enjoy being up close and personal with The Guv as he takes on all comers including Nigel Farage. As Dave increasingly commissions original programmes, we want to reflect major news and events on air but always in Dave's unique way.

Jamie Isaacs, Executive Producer for Liberty Bell Productions, added,

This is the election story everyone wants to follow and we are delighted the Pub Landlord has granted us access.

Dave's Election Night Special will air 7 May at 10pm on Dave.

Dave is the UK's most watched non-PSB channel. It continues to grow its slate of original commissions. Successful returning formats include the award-nominated Dave Gorman Modern Life is Goodish, Alan Davies As Yet Untitled, Storage Hunters UK and Crackanory. Ross Noble Freewheeling returns for a second series in March and later this year Dave will move for the first time into scripted comedy with Hoff the Record, starring David Hasslehoff, one of the most anticipated shows of 2015. The Greg Davies and Alex Horne fronted Taskmaster, another Dave original, is set to air in the summer.

ENDS

About Amanda Blue

Award-winnning director Amanda Blue is best known for thought-provoking observational documentaries. Amanda learnt her craft working for critically acclaimed feature film director, Mike Figgis and later collaborated with him on his documentary arts films. Her work shows the humanity and hilarity in shows such as Prescott: The Class System and Me, Daisy Does America and Twincredibles. She has also evocatively explored race, class, childhood and even death in her films.

About UKTV

UKTV is the multi-award winning media company that reaches over 42 million viewers every month.

UKTV's eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, Watch, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food - include the most popular non-PSB channel in the UK and account for 9% of the British commercial TV market. The company's most recent financial results showed record-breaking year-end revenue of £278m, and EBITDA of £67.4m. It invested a record £125m in programming and related launches last year, and is becoming an increasingly significant investor in UK creativity.

UKTV has a truly innovative model, curating brand-defining commissions, high-profile acquisitions and the very best of BBC, alongside programmes originally shown on ITV and Channel 4. The network embraces technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories.

Now celebrating its 22nd year at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) - is proud to be the only British television broadcaster to be recognised by Best Companies.

corporate.uktv.co.uk / pressoffice.uktv.co.uk / @uktv_press

About Dave HD

Sky 111/232, Virgin 128, HD: 129, Freeview 12

Dave proudly presents a plethora of original commissions; Crackanory, Ross Noble Freewheeling, Dave Gorman's Modern Life is Goodish, and Dara O Briain: School of Hard Sums, all laden with the biggest names in British comedy. Not to mention a brand spanking new series with QI favourite Alan Davies in Alan Davies As Yet Untitled.

If that wasn't enough to whet your appetite we also have a stack of national treasures like QI, Red Dwarf X, Mock the Week and Have I Got News For You, plus the Red Bull trilogy of Cliff Diving, X-Fighters and the Soap Box races. And of course, we still have Top Gear. Obviously we have to add, Dave is the UK's most watched non-PSB channel broadcasting to over 27 million people per month, featuring hit US shows including the sharp-witted and sharp-suited Suits, the ludicrously addictive Lizard Lick Towing and the wonder that is Storage Hunters, the gift that keeps on giving.

www.joindave.co.uk / @join_dave

About Liberty Bell

Liberty Bell Productions, formed in autumn 2002, specialises in the production of television documentaries and features, factual entertainment, current affairs, drama-documentary and youth programming..

What the press has said about previous Liberty Bell productions:

Portillo on Thatcher: The Lady's Not For Spurning

"Gordon Brown and David Cameron should watch it. Tony Blair should get a hold of a tape and reflect on what might have been. Media bosses who only commission films if they portray politicians as corrupt and mad should take note also... I know people with only a passing interest in politics who were gripped." Steve Richards, The Independent

The Alastair Campbell Diaries

"Just as DVD extras allow you to see the human fallibility that lies behind the polished exterior of the finished film, Campbell's diary fills in the engrossing trivia of off-stage politics... it is completely engrossing." Thomas Sutcliffe, The Independent

Scrappers

"The Walkers and the rag-tag bunch of rough diamonds they employ make for grand telly." Ben Arnold, The Guardian

The Widow's Tale

"This complex and moving film is one of the television highlights of the year so far." Andrew Male, The Sunday Times