26th August 2020
Emma Willis returns to W for a brand-new series of the award-winning Delivering Babies, but this time the families are preparing to give birth in the midst of a pandemic. Emma Willis: Delivering Babies in 2020 (4x60') is produced by Firecracker Films and all filming adheres to social distancing guidelines. The series will air in 2021.
The UKTV Original series will follow Emma as she tells the stories of families whose birthing plans have been thrown up in the air by lockdown in the UK in 2020. During this time, fully qualified Maternity Care Assistant Emma will be helping parents-to-be across the UK as they prepare to welcome their baby into the new-normal. With the births being shot by the families themselves, this is a unique and intimate insight into what it means to bring new life into a world that's been turned upside down. The series will follow them in the run up to their births and when they return home - with Emma on hand to offer support and guidance on everything from breastfeeding, to sleep routines, to keeping a healthy mindset.
Emma Willis said:
Its obviously been extremely challenging to make any TV so far this year, let alone a show based in a hospital, so I'm really pleased that we've still been able to check in with a number of families for this latest show. I'm obviously gutted not to be alongside the fantastic team at the Princess Alexandra Hospital this year, but I've been keeping in touch with them through lockdown and hope to be working back on the wards one day soon.
Emma Willis: Delivering Babies in 2020 is commissioned for UKTV by Helen Nightingale, senior commissioning editor, and ordered by Adam Collings, channel director for W. Steve North is genre general manager for comedy and entertainment and Hilary Rosen is head of factual and factual entertainment. The series is executive produced for Firecracker Films by Sam Emmery, head of documentaries, and Jes Wilkins, chief creative officer. The series will be distributed by Passion Distribution.
Helen Nightingale said: "Hospital access was not an option this year, so we're thrilled that Firecracker have been able to produce this new series and Emma can still help families as she's been trained to do. For me, the only question I asked was what would Emma do if she couldn't be in the hospital doing her job as an MCA? And this is the next best thing. We're incredibly thankful to Emma and the production team for coming up with this innotative solution that means we can bring Delivering Babies back to W soon."
Adam Collings said: "I am so pleased we are continuing our journey with Emma and fans of this amazing series. Delivering Babies continues to be our highest performing show and it's brilliant to be able to marry the universal nature of birth and parenthood with timely stories and experiences that a lot of our viewers are currently going through."
Sam Emmery, head of documentaries at Firecracker Films, added: "We are delighted to be working with Emma and W again, on this innovative series. Although we are in the middle of a pandemic, babies are still being born and it's a privilege to be able to capture this unique moment in time. Emma's warmth and genuine care for the people she meets, albeit remotely, shines through once more."
Emma Willis: Delivering Babies in 2020 follows on from the success of the previous series, which was awarded a Broadcast Digital Award in 2019 in the Popular Factual category.
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About W
Sky 109/809, Virgin 125/191, BT 311/383, TalkTalk 311/ On demand on Sky, Virgin, BT and TalkTalk
W is UKTV's premium entertainment channel, offering audiences a dazzling mix of UKTV Original series with some of the UK's most-loved talent in front and behind the camera.
Part of the W family, Emma Willis trains as a maternity care assistant in Emma Willis: Delivering Babies, while Emily Atack asks herself some big questions in Emily Atack: Adulting and Stacey Dooley spends some time with extraordinary families in Stacey Dooley: Sleeps Over. For its first foray into scripted original series, W welcomed Lorna Martin's Women on the Verge and celebrity PR drama Flack, starring Academy award winner Anna Paquin.
W will also delve into the world of babies and weddings with My Famous Babysitter and The Wedding Fixer, while channel favourite Inside The Ambulance continues to shine a light on paramedics across the UK. Inside the Operating Theatre takes that relationship further, getting to the heart of the surgeons saving lives inside the hospital. Debut series Ski A&E will look at the heroic actions of emergency ski services. And finally, W's hit acquisitions MasterChef Australia, MasterChef USA and MasterChef USA Juniors round out the offering.
About UKTV
UKTV has been at the forefront of branded television for over 25 years, entertaining the nation with programmes they love. Its leading brands - Dave, Gold, W, Drama, Alibi, Eden and Yesterday - span comedy, entertainment, natural history, factual and drama, and are delivered to audiences through UKTV Play, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat and Amazon Fire. The broadcaster is a significant investor in British creativity and is committed to working with new and established writers, directors and programme-makers.
UKTV is part of BBC Studios, the UK's most-awarded production company, a world-class distributor with international branded services, and a commercial subsidiary of the world's leading public service broadcaster, the BBC.