The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Blue Planet spin-off in bid to ‘modernise’ BBC’s daytime TV
New programme will focus on seas around Britain
Hit TV series Blue Planet is getting a new spin-off, focusing on the seas around Britain.
The show will air on BBC daytime, which has traditionally been associated with popular stalwarts like Homes Under The Hammer and Bargain Hunt.
Springwatch star Gillian Burke and Countryfile presenter Steve Brown, alongside Chris Packham, will front Blue Planet UK.
Due to air on BBC1 over a week in March, it will capture the UK’s marine wildlife.
The series is being produced by BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit, which made Blue Planet and Blue Planet II.
And while Blue Planet II put plastic pollution at the top of the agenda, the daytime spin-off will “offer practical solutions for how to get involved around the country” and tackle the problem.
Other new shows announced for the BBC’s daytime schedules include Good Morning Dagenham, narrated by Larry Lamb.
The five-part documentary series will be filmed in a huge open air market in east London, and will feature a cast of “lovable characters”.
It will capture attempts by market traders to fight off the threat of online shopping with new weekly attractions and stalls.
Meanwhile, former Flog It! presenter Paul Martin has landed a new BBC1 show, Curiosity.
Contestants will have to value and date the antiques and collectables in his fictional shop, against the clock.
And Dom Littlewood will go to the US and immerse himself in institutions, from policing and prisons to hospitals, in a new show.
Dan McGolpin, controller of BBC programming and daytime, said of the schedule: “We are trying to modernise daytime and have a new generation of hits.”
He told the Press Association: “We’ve got lots of long-running, popular shows that people love. There’s nothing wrong with that. But we’re trying to bring through a new generation.”
He added of Blue Planet UK: “It’s a bit closer to home and a bit more accessible... I think the opportunity to look at seas around the UK is going to really appeal to people.”