Tuesday 23rd January

Romesh Ranganathan will front a brand new format for UKTV's award winning entertainment channel Dave; Judge Romesh (10x30'). The UKTV Original sees Romesh holding court over real life disputes, casting his trademark acerbic wit over each and supported by a cast of top comedians. Each week Romesh will preside over genuine disagreements and mete out comic judgement in his own inimitable style. Judge Romesh brings all the drama of a court room with a triple-dose of funny.

Romesh Ranganathan said,

Whenever I have watched shows like Judge Judy or Judge Rinder, I have always thought these people would be better served by someone with fewer legal qualifications and less interest. It is for that reason that I am delighted to make that dream a reality. I am thrilled to be able to help as many people as I can with their crappy problems.

Judge Romesh is produced by Hungry Bear Media, commissioned for UKTV by Joe McVey, commissioning executive and ordered by Richard Watsham, director of commissioning and Steve North, genre general manager, comedy and entertainment. Judge Romesh is directed by Ollie Bartlett, series produced by Sarah Pack and executive produced for Hungry Bear Media by Dan Baldwin and Andy Price.

Joe McVey said, "Judge Romesh is the much-needed overhaul the criminal justice system has been waiting for. Where the court system has failed to resolve tawdry domestic disputes Romesh Ranganathan is exactly the arbiter of morality we've been yearning for, for like literally yonks."

Steve North said,

Romesh is a phenomenal talent and one we're really happy to be working with. This should be a highly entertaining new format for British TV and one I'm sure Dave viewers will all really be looking forward to.

Dan Baldwin, managing director of Hungry Bear Media, said, "Hungry Bear are delighted to be working with Dave and Romesh on this production. There have been many judges past and present but none will be as funny or, when needed, brutal in their search for justice as Judge Romesh strikes down gavel."

The announcement of Judge Romesh kickstarts 2018 after a hugely successful year for UKTV Originals last year. In 2018 Dave has already premiered Yianni: Supercar Customiser and will soon be airing returning viewer favourites series four of Unspun with Matt Forde and series three of Dara O Briain's Go 8 Bit, plus more live boxing in association with Hayemaker Ringstar.

For more information, please contact:
Ben Duncan, Publicist
Ali Laurie, Network Communications Executive

Pictures - pictures.uktv.co.uk
Press Office - pressoffice.uktv.co.uk

About Dave
Sky 111/246, Virgin 128/194, Freeview 12, BT & TalkTalk 12 On demand on Sky, Virgin and UKTV Play

About UKTV
UKTV is a commercial broadcaster reaching over 40m viewers every month. 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 nearly 10% of the British commercial TV market. The network delivers 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 over 20 years 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 first British television broadcaster in The Sunday Times top 100 companies list.
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