London - Monday, 22 August 2016
UKTV's premium entertainment channel W, today announced a brand new commission to its expanding roster of original programming with a new documentary series, Dancing For The Weekend.
Behind Britain's front doors there are thousands of people with a secret - they can't wait for the weekend to Cha Cha Cha and Rumba. Produced by Electric Ray, UKTV Original Dancing For The Weekend (6x60') dives into the lives of the surprising characters who moonlight as amateur dancers and live for the thrill of weekend competitions. Whether they be office workers or full-time parents, long-term couples or platonic friends. The show explores the glorious highs and crushing lows as they swap their everyday outfits for glamorous costumes and hit the dance floor.
Week by week, the show's brilliant characters will try and juggle their hectic home lives while taking their chances on the Sunday circuit to see if they have what it takes to succeed in sequins.
Dancing for the Weekend is ordered by Steve North, general manager for W and UKTV's director of commissioning Richard Watsham, and commissioned by Helen Nightingale. Meredith Chambers is executive producer for Electric Ray.
UKTV executive producer, Helen Nightingale said,
I'm thrilled to be working with Electric Ray on this exciting new series for W. The amazing people we have found will inspire, amuse and enthral with their energy and vigour for the world of amateur dance.
Steve North, W's general manager, added,
It's an exciting time for W as we continue to broaden our programming. Dancing For The Weekend captures the extraordinary passions of ordinary people and will be full of warm, funny and inspirational characters.
Executive producer for Electric Ray, Meredith Chambers, said,
The amateur dancers we've met are phenomenal characters - funny and warm, passionate and theatrical. Somehow they've got the energy to get in to sequined lycra after a full day's work or after they've put the kids to bed - we can't wait to bring their dazzling lives to the screen for W.
Dancing For The Weekend will air in 2017. This autumn W launches exciting new UKTV Originals including John Bishop: In Conversation With..., I've Got Something To Tell You and Inside The Ambulance.
For more information:
Kerry Parker, Head of Network Communications
About W
Sky 109/245, Virgin 124/191, BT & TalkTalk 407 On demand on Sky and Virgin W is UKTV's premium entertainment channel, offering audiences a dazzling mix of original factual entertainment formats - ON, Get Me To The Church, Honey I Bought the House - alongside the gold standard of shows from the US including Code Black, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, CSI:NY, Grimm and The Strain plus jewels from the BBC including the same day repeat of EastEnders.
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 £319m and EBITDA of £82m. It invested £148m 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.