Channel 5 has recommissioned two travelogues and ordered a new show with Michael Portillo for its 2022 slate.
The broadcaster has greenlit second series for two travelogues. The Cotswolds and Beyond with Pam Ayres w/t (6 x 60) from True North is coming back. While Curve Media will make another series of Motorhoming with Merton & Webster (6 x 60), as well as a new series order, The Pyrenees with Michael Portillo w/t (4 x 60’).
Motorhoming with Merton & Webster and The Pyrenees with Michael Portillo will be co-produced by Curve Media and Motion Content Group. Claire Simpson will be serving as executive producer for Portillo from Curve and Sarah Swingler for the Merton’s with Martin Oxley for Motion Content Group across both titles. The Mertons was ordered by Kit Morey and Portillo by Daniel Pearl, commissioning editors, Factual, Channel 5 & P+.
The Cotswolds with Pam Ayres was commissioned by Lucy Willis commissioning editor, Non Scripted UK Originals, Channel 5 & P+ and will be exec produced by True North creative director Christian Hills.
As he approaches the landmark age of three score years and 10, Michael Portillo will visit the mountain range that straddles the border between France and Spain, the Pyrenees. He walks a stretch of the 270 mile trail through the Pyrenees, from the Bay of Biscay on the Atlantic coast in the West to the shores of the Mediterranean in the East. In each episode, he’ll be meeting up with locals who will share their knowledge and introduce Michael to new experiences, from stargazing at night from a mountain peak, enjoying a delicious Cassoulet, soaking in a hot spring or attempting to spot a lynx.
Daniel Pearl, commissioning editor, Factual, Channel 5 & P+ said: “This latest series is so much more than a travelogue – for Michael, this extraordinary journey will be a real moment of adventure, but also self-reflection as he approaches a landmark moment in his life. I’m looking forward to seeing the series come to air later on this year.”
All three series are set to transmit on Channel 5 in 2022.
Pippa Considine
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