Factual Entertainment and Features - New Year Q1 2014 Highlights

23 December 2013

The Taste

The Taste, the 10x60’ series based on the hit US format, will see TV cook and bestselling author Nigella Lawson and her fellow mentors American chef Anthony Bourdain and French chef Ludo Lefebvre battle it out to find The Taste's first British winner.
 
Each week, a collision of fiery cookery challenges, blind-taste eliminations and simmering egos are cooked up as twelve contestants battle it out to please the palates of the professionals.  But the pressure is on as they can only give the mentors one spoonful of their food - and every tasting is done blind, so the experts never know whose food they are eating.

Each mentor guides four contestants, who face weekly group and individual challenges before the final elimination. With so much gastronomic pride at stake and the pressure of cooking for the cream of the culinary crop, who will beat the heat and be crowned winner of The Taste?

The Jump

This winter Channel 4 will be on the piste celebrating both the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games and a brand new epic prime-time event show The Jump.

Stripped over 9 nights in early 2014, the Twofour / GME produced show will see 12 celebrities get to grips with the nerve shattering physical and mental discipline needed to compete in the most demanding and dangerous winter sports events.

Coming from a mountainside in Europe twelve well-known faces will confront their fears and each other to compete each night in a series of extreme open air alpine challenges. Competing contestants will be trained by expert coaches and Olympians in some of the most terrifying winter sports including skiing, skeleton, slalom and ski jumping.

The Undateables:

Looking for love can be tricky, but some find it harder than others.  Add disability to the equation and it can sometimes seem almost impossible. This uplifting series returns to follow the journeys of several extraordinary singletons as they enter the dating circuit in pursuit of love.

From a four-time gold medal winner in the Dwarf Games to a jazz singer with Tourette’s, to a careworker with a rare form of Down Syndrome, we follow them as they enter the world of blind dates, matchmaking and speed-dating.  Their quest to find love and companionship will take them on a journey of highs and lows, but all are open to finding someone special.

Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast

This new six-part series, presented by childhood friends Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty, is all about feasts for the weekend.

Coming from their caff at the end of Southend pier, Jamie’s got recipes that will blow your friends and family away; Jimmy will be showing how to cook great food you wouldn’t usually try at home with some DIY food builds; and some very special guests will be dropping by to help out in the kitchen and serve up their very favourite recipes to the caff’s diners. 

Plus the two Essex boys will be hitting the road, touring Britain trying to save some of Britain’s best regional foods from extinction.

The weekends are for feasting - thank food it’s Friday!

Kirstie’s Best of Both Worlds (w/t)

Across the 8x60’ series Kirstie will help people who are looking for the perfect home that will provide them with not only a slice of classic country living, but is also in easy reach of the city.

With house pricing quickly dropping for every minute further out of the city you’re prepared to move – a whopping £1,300 for every minute’s commute out of the capital – it’s no surprise that buyers are looking for a country pile a stone’s throw from Britain’s busy cities.

With her huge passion for showing people what their lives could be like in their potential new home, Kirstie will showcase three properties that meet the buyer’s needs but pushes them further and further each time and a fourth that will take them completely out of their comfort zone and into the heart of rural Britain.

Troy

This brand new series featuring magician Troy is set to enthral and amaze.  It will showcase his incredible skills as he performs astonishing stunts in front of the eyes of the unsuspecting public. The series will combine elements of street magic and close up studio illusions, with each episode culminating in one spectacular stunt.

Using hidden cameras to capture the genuine reaction of people he encounters in his everyday life Troy will get under their skin without them even knowing they are taking part in a magic performance. 

24 year old Troy Von Scheibner is of German and Jamaican heritage and grew up in South London. At the age of 13 he decided to join The Young Magicians Club, where later he was awarded "young close-up magician of the year" aged only 15.

All Back to School

Inspirational Head Teacher Stephen Drew from Educating Essex is returning to Channel 4 for a dramatic and compelling new six part series that will see him send children and their parents back to school.

All Back to School (w/t) features boys aged between 9-12 years old, many of whom are on the brink of permanent exclusion from school. Mr Drew, who has an outstanding track record for turning around unruly children, will work with his team of specialist teachers to help the boys at a residential summer school.

However, the children’s behaviour won’t be the only thing put under the microscope – their parents will also be going back to the classroom, where they will witness their child’s bad behaviour first hand as well as having to address their own parenting skills.