31st May 2016

Multi-award winning broadcaster UKTV today announced a move into factual programming with the commission of 16 x 60' The Cops (w/t) for its real life channel, Really.

The series commissioned from Raw Cut will follow Staffordshire Police, one of Britain's most cutting-edge forces as they fight crime in the county's diverse and contrasting communities. Following a successful pilot scheme trialling the use of body cameras, officers are now wearing them on patrol to increase transparency and bring offenders to justice.

The series will provide a hard hitting mixture of body cam and observational footage, reflecting the daily challenges of combating crime.

Hilary Rosen, deputy director of commissioning at UKTV, said,

We are delighted to be working with Raw Cut on this new series. Our viewers love following the work of British cops and this series will deliver fresh insights into the fast-paced world of modern policing.

Jane Lomas Raw Cut said,

We are thrilled to have secured access to one of the most forward-thinking police forces in the country. Staffordshire Police employ 3,500 people with over 1,750 police officers, 200 PCSOs and 300 special constables. They're more than just a police force, they're a family. We are proud to be able to be making this show for Really giving viewers a chance to see this police family in action as they face the daily challenges of fighting crime.

Emma Ayech, general manager, Really, said,

This is an exciting time for Really with this factual commission to add to our slate. The Cops (w/t) gives our viewers a brand new insight into what it is truly like to be on the frontline of policing in contemporary Britain. It will demonstrate how all the departments work together to serve the community and deliver an outstanding service to the people of Staffordshire.

This is Raw Cut's first commission for Really who are currently in production with Police Interceptors in its tenth series for Channel 5 and Neighbourhood Blues in its seventh series for BBC Daytime. Previously they have made Road Wars which ran for seven series on Sky, Afghan Army Girls for Channel 4 for the acclaimed True Stories strand and Crime Scene Forensics for BBC One.

The series is currently in pre-production and it will transmit later this year. It is commissioned by Hilary Rosen and executive produced for UKTV by Victoria Summer.

The Series Producer for Raw Cut is Jules Seymour and the Exec Producers are Bill Rudgard, Steve Warr and Jane Lomas.

UKTV's free-to-air channel Really has established itself as the home of real life programming. Real life rescue is a key content pillar, alongside crime, paranormal and lifestyle programming. Really's successful commissions in 2016 included Most Haunted Live which saw the channel surge to its highest ever ratings as the nation was gripped by a live ghost hunt.

For more information contact:

Katie Sheldrake, Publicist, UKTV

or

Lou Plank, Plank PR, 020 8995 3936 / lou@plankpr.com

Notes to Editors

About Really

Sky 155, Virgin 267, Freeview 17, BT & TalkTalk 017
really.uktv.co.uk - On demand on UKTV Play Really is a leading real life TV channel, offering viewers an exhilarating, emotional roller coaster of programming. Championing astounding documentaries, real life crime stories and lifestyle programming plus premier paranormal content. Free to air channel Really offers a compelling variety of real life and lifestyle favourites including documentaries such as Embarrassing Bodies, Helicopter Heroes, I Survived Evil and One Born Every Minute, lifestyle titles such as Homes Under The Hammer, DIY SOS and Escape to the Country as well as being the leading paranormal broadcaster with titles such as Paranormal Witness, Most Haunted and Ghost Adventures.

About UKTV

UKTV is the biggest multichannel broadcaster in the UK.

The award-winning independent has eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, W, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food. These include the two most popular non-PSB channels in the UK and account for 9.31% of the British commercial TV market.

The company's most recent financial results showed record-breaking year-end revenue of £283m and EBITDA of £74.1m. It invested £123m 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, Freesat, Amazon Fire and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories.

Now celebrating its 23rd 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 in The Sunday Times top 100 companies list.

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

About Raw Cut

Raw Cut is an independent production company with an excellent reputation for producing distinctive, high-quality and ground-breaking programmes. At the heart of Raw Cut's success is powerful story telling combined with journalistic integrity to create compelling television.

Raw Cut has an established and long-standing working relationship with Born Free. Over the years, we have filmed a number of projects with the charity in Africa, including the relocation of lions and leopards, the building of new cattle enclosures and animal censuses.

Raw Cut's ability to innovate, both editorially and technologically, has resulted in the production of several hugely successful long-running, returnable series. POLICE INTERCEPTORS is currently in its TENTH season for Channel 5, NEIGHBOURHOOD BLUES is in its SEVENTH series for BBC Daytime and ROAD WARS ran for SEVEN seasons on Sky.

These highly popular series have become household names and ROAD WARS especially has gained a cult following. Despite being more than 10 years old, it still makes up 4% of total programmes on Sky 1, 2 and Pick and its 100 hours has just been re-licensed for a further three years.

These key Raw Cut series are also international hits and are licensed across the World, most notably to North America, Europe, the Far East and Australia.

Last year Raw Cut helped to successfully launch new channel Spike UK with POLICE INTERCEPTORS: UNLEASHED presented by Vinnie Jones. Two new series are already in production this year: a new primetime series for ITV and a 16 part series for UKTV.