Factual entertainment specialist Red Sauce, part of Zinc Media Group, has confirmed a significant volume of commissions of its Manchester-made Bargain Loving Brits brand.
The company has been commissioned by Channel 5 to make 54 hours of programming – the largest volume deal ever received by a Zinc Media label. The Channel 5 daytime version of the series Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun, a 40 x 60 min commission, returns for its second run. It is joined by the recommission of the peak-time version Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun, which is an 8 x 60 min commission, increasing from its usual six episodes. The UK-based Bargain Loving Brits by the Sea (6 x 60 min) will also return for a third series.
Tom Edwards, creative director, Red Sauce, said: “These series have been a huge hit with viewers, with the daytime version increasing the channel’s slot share by a third and beating tough competition on other channels. Audiences have a huge hunger right now for ‘real life soap opera’ which this series delivers by the bucket (and spade) full. This is a real testimony to our talented production team in Manchester and our wider support team in London.”
Edwards adds that a further major commission with another channel is expected to be announced shortly: “We’ve made, or had commissioned, 120 hours of TV since our launch 18 months ago – we’re really pleased with this start,” he said.
Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun daytime charts the lives of the Brits who’ve swapped the damp and grey of the UK for a new life in the UK’s most popular holiday destination, Spain. The original peak-slot version of Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun will continue to take an in-depth look at Benidorm’s community of Britons who’ve fled the UK for sun and a low-cost life. Bargain Loving Brits by the Sea follows the army of people working in the hospitality and leisure industry in Northern seaside towns.
