±«Óãtv

We are looking for ambitious factual entertainment series which have both a contemporary relevance and sense of escapism. The ideas you pitch us shouldn’t feel worthy, and purpose can be worn lightly. Please don’t self-censor by thinking an idea isn’t ‘±«Óãtv’ enough, we want you to bring us your most exciting, entertaining and provocative starting points.

Our slate

Our slate includes some of the titles most loved by audiences across the UK. This ranges from huge factual entertainment formats like Race Across the World, Celebrity Race Across the World, I Kissed a Boy, The Great British Sewing Bee, Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr, The Rap Game UK and the upcoming Destination X and I Kissed a Girl, to popular factual formats such as The Repair Shop, Great British Menu and Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby, to standout funny factual series like Amanda & Alan’s Italian Job, The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan and Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.

We look after cherished brands including Countryfile, Gardeners’ World, Antiques Roadshow and DIY SOS and work with some of the nation’s favourite food talent such as Mary Berry, Andi Oliver, Nadiya Hussain, Tom Kerridge, Nigella Lawson and The Hairy Bikers. We also have an exciting slate of events, from historical global occasions like the King's Coronation to yearly landmarks like The State Opening of Parliament and Remembrance Sunday: The Cenotaph, to moments of national celebration like the New Year’s Eve Fireworks.

Our audience

We want programmes that invite everybody in, so when developing ideas for us think big, broad-appeal and entertaining.

Importantly, we know that factual entertainment in particular has the power to connect us with younger and underserved viewers who might not come to the ±«Óãtv for anything else, so ideas pitched to us should have these audiences at their heart in terms of territory, tone and talent.

Our audiences value easy-to-watch escapism, often set in distinctive worlds. These might promise pleasure, like sun-kissed Sicily in Amanda & Alan's Italian Job, or edge-of-your-seat drama like the thrilling, adrenaline-filled final dash across an epic landscape in Race Across the World.

It’s vital that we represent and reflect everyone who watches our output, authentically portraying the lives and communities of audiences in all corners of the UK. We would love to land a huge series that has regional portrayal at its heart and have had success with the likes of Designing the Hebrides featuring Interior Design Masters winner Banjo Beale. Our recent call out for funny factual series to co-commission with ±«Óãtv teams in Wales and Scotland proved an exciting model, and we are always looking for more ways to collaborate across the ±«Óãtv.

iPlayer

We are focussed on programming that can cut through on iPlayer and create a high-volume of content to give audiences a compelling reason to keep returning to the platform.

In a competitive on-demand environment programmes need to capture attention and have instantly recognisable originality. Ideas like Race Across the World have a simplicity and clarity of proposition that mean viewers can instantly grasp what they’re coming to and why. For that reason, familiar, immediately recognisable worlds also work well on the platform.

It’s therefore essential to think about the programme title and imagery from the start – how will they encourage viewers to click on your series over another? How will they stand out and look distinct from the content around them?

Scale is key on iPlayer - our programmes need to look and feel like premium content. Think about how your idea will stand out from and compete with the biggest titles in the market. Can they go head-to-head with dramas in terms of offering distinctive worlds, fresh narrative devices and a story that's full of surprises?

In an on-demand environment shows must give the audience a reason to keep watching episode after episode. This could be through a narrative arc across a series or cliff-hanger moments at the end of each episode that keep viewers coming back for more. Alternatively, what playful and stand-out hooks can pull viewers through multiple self-contained episodes?

Talkability is also vital. How can your format deliver audacious, stand-out moments that are going to set social media on fire and make people want to recommend the show to their friends?

Talent

Many of our biggest titles are celebrity driven or have well-known talent at their heart. Our audiences like down-to-earth, smart and straight-talking talent with humour and warmth. They need to be inviting and feel authentic so the audience buy them in their role. So, Danni Minogue is the perfect host for I Kissed a Boy and I Kissed a Girl because of her long history of LGBTQ+ allyship.

Existing A-list names are always going to be appealing, but the big win is using them in unexpected ways. Comedians like Sara Pascoe and Romesh Ranganathan bring a cheeky wink to our fact ent formats, and we’re open to using high-profile talent known in other spaces, be that comedy, drama, sport, music, social, business and beyond.

We like challenging talent with a quest, adventure or endeavour that provides editorial substance and a reason to keep watching. We’re not looking for travelogues or item shows, these experiences should feel authentic and our talent should feel truly immersed in the environment.

When bringing talent together we’re looking for pairings who have an authentic relationship and onscreen chemistry that feels like a real treat to watch. Alan Carr and Amanda Holden’s real-life friendship adds an intimacy and an extra layer to their Italian Job. As does the relationship between Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer in Gone Fishing and Martin Compston and Phil MacHugh in their Norwegian Fling.

Where we use experts, they also need to come with distinctive styles and personalities - think Patrick and Esme on Sewing Bee, Michelle Ogundehin in Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr or Krept, Konan and DJ Target in The Rap Game UK. They need to be memorable, bringing character in addition to their expertise.

Talent must feel relevant to the target audience your programme is aimed at but remember a young-skewing show doesn’t always have to have young talent at the heart.

Tone and approach

Think carefully about your idea's tone of voice, it can be a way of bringing a new flavour to a popular territory. For example, using unexpected talent or location can add an interesting new take to a familiar subject. We want to lift audiences with joy, humour and escapism but that doesn’t need to be at the expense of mischief, friction and spikier gameplay, which we know can appeal to younger viewers.

In general, we are after innovative ideas that subvert traditional shapes or tones and go beyond the familiar. What’s the new twist that subverts expectations? How can we wrong-foot the audience?  

Competitive formats

Competitive formats and gamified reality remain the priority for our slate as we hunt for series to sit alongside the likes of Race Across the World, Destination X and I Kissed a Boy. Series where scale is the key ingredient. We’re not looking for mid-sized formats, short runs, or two or three-part social experiments. Series need to offer a narrative arc that will pull viewers through multiple episodes on iPlayer.

We already have a great slate of competitive formats including The Great British Sewing Bee to The Rap Game UK and Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr. Where else could we go, and how could we reinvent the competitive shape? What new gameplay would have viewers on the edge of their seat or plotting out their own strategy from their sofa? What visually intriguing worlds can our competitions inhabit to offer the ultimate escapism?

Lots of our most successful competitions are skills-based, but what other narrative drivers might there be? Race Across the World is driven by decision making, which helps to unpack relationship dynamics. Destination X blends ambitious adventure travel with immersive gameplay in the ultimate guessing game. How else can our formats put people to the test or explore an interesting facet of human nature?

We’re excited about shaking up the competitive form. How might you go beyond a weekly whittle in terms of eliminations? Might a provocative social experiment provide the basis for a returning competitive format? What’s the next big format device after the guessing game or the spinning chair? How could your choice of shape deliver cliff-hangers or mean every episode doesn’t play out in the same way? Could your idea be stripped across a number of episodes a week?

Funny factual

Our audience values humour and joy and we have seen success with our recent funny factual series, including ‘sitcom’ Amanda & Alan’s Italian Job. We’re looking for more returnable, talent-driven funny factual series with broad appeal.

Funny talent can also bring a new dimension to familiar territories and scale up well-trodden areas we know our audience love. For example, Paul and Bob bring humour and pathos to a great British pastime in Gone Fishing and the humour Amanda and Alan bring to their Italian Job has supersized the renovation space.

These series offer plenty of fun on top of the emotional narratives and underlying subject matter. Where else can we take surprising talent that would enable us to add a layer of entertainment or humour?  

Talent-led reality

Reality remains a particular focus for us as we know it appeals to our younger audience. On ±«Óãtv Three we’re therefore focussed on high-profile talent with ready-made followings that we know can bring young viewers, like UFC fighters Molly McCann and Paddy Pimblett in . Authenticity and a real relevance to the audience are critical for ideas to work here, as are aspirational worlds rich in big characters living extreme lives, high drama, laugh-out-loud humour and even the occasional hint of the salacious.

We have a raft of successful returning formats on ±«Óãtv Three which all appeal to underserved audiences, including I Kissed a Boy, The Rap Game UK, and the forthcoming I Kissed a Girl. Any new format we consider must have a standout appeal to this underserved audience.

Unscripted on iPlayer

Read about how we commission unscripted content in an iPlayer first-world, along with advice and further resources to maximise the impact of your programme on the platform.