Channel 4 Autumn and Winter Highlights

20 August 2014

So far, 2014 has been a stellar year for Channel 4: with a haul of industry awards, including more BAFTAS and RTS Awards than any other channel; increased viewing across the highly competitive peak time schedule on the main channel and the portfolio; and a huge range of creative success with breakout hits including Gogglebox, Benefits Street, The Jump and The Island with Bear Grylls.

This autumn and winter looks set to continue this trend with a raft of original new programming across a range of genres. The following are highlights – a full press pack can be found at www.channel4.com/info/press/press-packs/channel-4-autumn-winter-2014-15-press-pack.

Drama is firmly at the heart of Channel 4’s schedule over the coming months with a broad slate from a range of distinctive voices.

For 2015 Cucumber, Banana & Tofu is a major cross platform project from Russell T Davies, fifteen years after Queer as Folk exploded onto our screens. Cucumber (Channel 4) and Banana (E4) are two original drama series exploring the passions and pitfalls of 21st century gay life. Cucumber stars Vincent Franklin (The Thick of It, Twenty Twelve) and Cyril Nri (The Bill) as couple Henry and Lance, whose comfortable, settled life is shattered after the most disastrous date night in history.  Companion E4 series Banana offers an intriguing, witty and often unexpected peek into the lives, loves and losses of a range of characters – some of whom we meet in Cucumber. Featuring exciting emerging talent from the fields of acting, writing and directing, the unique stand-alone stories cover 50 shades of gay and beyond. Finally, Tofu is light-hearted online documentary series exploring modern sex in all its varied manifestations, made by prolific YouTuber Benjamin Cook.

Also for early 2015 is 10-part epic Indian Summers, which tells the rich and explosive story of the decline of the British Empire and the birth of modern India, from both sides of the experience.  Starring Julie Walters as Cynthia, a widowed doyenne at the heart of the British society, alongside young talent Henry Lloyd Hughes as Ralph, tipped to be the new Viceroy, and Nikesh Patel as his clerk Aafrin. The drama also features Indian stars Roshan Seth and Lillete Dubey as Aafrin’s parents. As the British Raj begins to falter, a nation opens its eyes to the possibilities of freedom.

Glue is a brand new crime drama for E4 bringing together a cast of Britain’s brightest young talent, written by the BAFTA-winning Jack Thorne (This is England, Skins, The Fades). When the body of a local teenage boy is found underneath the wheels of a tractor, the locals in this small English village – his friends – are forced to open up their world and watch their secrets spill out.  Secrets that will change their particular brand of country life forever. 

Having kicked in our front doors with the critically acclaimed pilot episode earlier in the year, award-winning writing duo Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong are back with a six part series of Babylon this autumn, starring Brit Marling, James Nesbitt, Paterson Joseph, Bertie Carvel, Adam Deacon, Jill Halfpenny, Jonny Sweet and Nicola Walker.

Starring Zawe Ashton (Fresh Meat) and written by a former star of Channel 4’s new talent strand Coming Up, DC Moore, CUT is a 6-part portrait of a generation struggling with the realities of 21st Century working life. Could Katherine’s (Ashton) relocation from London to Northampton to join the Immigration Pathway department be the last straw for her?

Joanna Scanlan (The Thick of It, Getting On), Alexandra Roach (The Iron Lady, Utopia) and Elaine Cassidy (The Paradise, Harper’s Island) star as an unorthodox crack team of cops at the heart of Paul Abbott’s No Offence – an outrageous new police procedural series from the writer of Shameless and State of Play.   Colin Salmon (Arrow, 24: Live Another Day), Will Mellor (Dates, Broadchurch) and Paul Ritter (Friday Night Dinner, Vera) join them in the mix of tough but big-hearted bobbies who go above and beyond to bring down the criminal rabble in a crumbling cop-shop. 

Reflecting life in contemporary Britain and prompting debate about big themes of the day are at the core of the channel’s factual output. Channel 4 will continue to tackle key areas of social debate such as immigration and the welfare system with shows including Immigration Street (w/t) which aims to capture life on a street where the mix of residents has been transformed and continues to evolve as a result of immigration. Skint returns with more powerful and intimate stories about people living without work in areas still feeling the effects of de-industrialisation. Make Leicester British, a follow up to 2012’s award-winning Make Bradford British, brings together residents from various backgrounds, ethnicities and viewpoints to explore what being British means today in one of Britain’s most ethnically diverse cities.

Continuing to employ fixed rig technology to get to the heart of modern society, 24 Hours in Police Custody will give unprecedented access to the inner workings of a busy police station in Luton. Arrests, interrogations and the constant traffic through custody cells will give an insight into the unrelenting pressures the station faces. Following the enormous success of last year’s Educating Yorkshire, which was Channel 4’s highest rating series of the year, Educating the East End focuses on a busy school in Walthamstow, embracing its diversity and the passion of the Head to promote inclusivity and tolerance. And using further developments in observational techniques and technology, teenagers share their digital lives and reveal what it is like to be a teenager in 21st Century Britain. In Teens 12 sixteen-year-olds share their real and virtual lives over 6 months via the use of the digital rig.

It is predicted that 1-in-3 people in the UK will be affected by Dementia in the future. With no known cure, this complex disease can destroy recent memories but leave some older ones intact, causing patients to retreat to their past. Led by experts in dementia care, Dementiaville (w/t) will explore a progressive approach to the care of people living with dementia, using reconstruction and archive to re-discover the person behind the illness.

For years psychologists have been researching the theory that human behaviour - such as acting lovingly towards another person - can actually spark the genuine emotional response. But is it really possible to ‘choose’ to fall in love? Married at First Sight (w/t) will follow couples as they are matched on a range of scientific and sociological criteria by a panel of experts. Choosing to enter into a legal marriage with a complete stranger the couples will meet for the first time as they declare ‘I do’ in front of their family and friends. Following the couples as they attempt to build a stable and loving relationship the series will question our assumptions about romantic love.

Drugs Live returns, and this time it turns its attention to cannabis. In the ethically-approved scientific study, volunteers will be given cannabis resin, ‘skunk’ and a placebo before undergoing tests to assess affects.

A multitude of established and new names bring their skill, passions and authorship to the channel over the coming months.

Grayson Perry is back with two new projects. Who Are You? sees the artist trying to cut through a culture saturated with selfies to nail us in a single image. In each of the three parts of this series he will spend time with Britons facing a moment in their lives when they need to define who they are and then distil his impressions of them into a portrait. Sitters include former MP Chris Huhne, former X Factor contestant Rylan Clark and a transgender teenager. In Grayson’s Greatest Design, we see his riskiest and most ambitious work of art yet: an extraordinary secular chapel near Harwich.

As an advocate of the power of music to change lives, internationally-renowned classical pianist James Rhodes has a radical plan to reverse the years of neglect of music education in Britain. A new 3-part series, Don’t Stop the Music, will see him investigate the crisis, gather allies and encourage the public to donate instruments in a bid to give children up and down the country a love of music.

Arthur Williams uncovers the experiences of British soldiers who returned home from The Great War disabled as a consequence of fighting on the frontline in Arthur Williams’ WW1. Underpinning Arthur’s journey will be his own story – a former Marine coming to terms with his own disability. Speed junkie, motorcycle racer and lorry mechanic Guy Martin takes on four new adrenaline-fuelled challenges in the second series of Speed with Guy Martin and explorer, writer and photographer Levison Wood takes on the incredible challenge to become the first person to successfully walk the length of the Nile in Walking the Nile.

Gordon Ramsay returns travelling to recession-hit holiday spots to offer his expertise to help the British expats whose dream of running businesses in the sun has turned into their Costa Del Nightmares. In Bodyshockers Katie Piper will again explore our fascination with body modification, meeting the people who desperately regret their choices and introducing them to others who are about to undergo similar radical procedures. South London born magician Troy will also return to E4 with more astonishing stunts and illusions. The series will again be filmed on the streets using hidden cameras to capture the genuine reactions of unsuspecting members of the public. Gadget Man Richard Ayoade still isn’t finding life any easier.  Cooking, shopping, going out or even staying in are among the activities that involve far too much effort for Ayoade’s liking.  That’s why he’s continuing his crusade in this series to find cutting edge gadgets that can ease his pain. Jamie Oliver is taking the nation’s favourite dishes to the next level in Jamie’s Comfort Food. Packed full of reinvented British classics, nostalgic comforters, outdoor treats and scrumptious puds, this series is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Gogglebox also returns later in the year with the same adored and highly opinionated British households, as well as a few new additions.

Flagship current affairs strand Dispatches continues throughout the autumn and winter and critically acclaimed, award-winning foreign affairs strand Unreported World returns for a new series.

Over in Comedy and Entertainment, a feast of new and returning shows brighten up autumn and beyond, across C4 and E4, featuring familiar and not-so-familiar faces.

Stand Up to Cancer, the partnership between Channel 4 and Cancer Research UK, makes its welcome return this October.  The live fundraising event will once again be hosted by Davina McCall, Alan Carr and Dr Christian Jensen and will harness a host of A-list talent and original programming to raise money for cancer research. Stars At Your Service, a highly interactive entertainment series, is one of these projects.  Viewers will be given a totally unique opportunity to ask celebrities to do a task of their choosing. And best of all – it will raise money for Stand Up to Cancer.

For early 2015, Catastrophe is a new series written by and starring Rob Delaney (comedian and best-selling author) and Sharon Horgan (Pulling). The six-part series follows an Irish woman (Horgan) and American man (Delaney) as they make a bloody mess as they struggle to fall in love in London. Caitlin Moran and her sister Caroline Moran, treat us to a series of Raised By Wolves following the successful one-off earlier in the year. Set on a Wolverhampton council-estate, it’s a modern day re-imagining of Caitlin and Caroline’s childhood.

Mortgages, marriage and parenthood – all big words from the ‘Adult World’ which strike fear in the heart of 30-somethings everywhere.  Award-winning comedian Jon Richardson, along with his pal and fellow comedian Matt Forde, will get to grips with the real big issues in his brand new show for Channel 4 Jon Richardson Grows Up.

Scrotal Recall is a new romantic comedy that follows the disastrous exploits of Dylan Witter (played by acclaimed folk musician and actor, Johnny Flynn) who must contact everyone he has every slept with to tell them he has an STI. He uses this quest to make sense of squandered opportunities, broken promises and romantic car-crashes.

Toast of London returns with another slice as eponymous hero Steven Toast (Matt Berry) continues his desperate attempts to get the love, respect and fame he adamantly thinks he deserves.

Over on E4, Drifters, the original comedy drama series from writer/performer Jessica Knappett, returns for a second series. Bad Robots, created by BAFTA winning producer Nathan Eastwood, is a brand new hidden camera show that uses technology, in the form of argumentative vending machines, patently biased pub quiz machines, abusive electronic road signs and the like, to create infuriating situations and computer-generated pranks. Bad Robots began life as a Comedy Blap, Channel 4’s online showcase to help develop new programme ideas and talent.

Finally, on the eve of the Scottish Independence referendum, we present Scotland In A Day. The mockumentary is set on the day of the referendum, and is designed to capture a snap shot of a nation on the brink of both triumph and disaster.