BBC, UKTV track Backshall adventures

Expedition with Steve Backshall will air on both BBC2 and Dave

The BBC and multi-channel operator UKTV have come together to greenlight an adventure series fronted by explorer Steve Backshall.

Expedition with Steve Backshall will follow the presenter and his expert crew into uncharted territory, including the first descent of a white-water river in the Himalayas and a trek through an unexplored jungle in South America.

True to Nature, the UK indie launched by former BBC Natural History Unit head Wendy Darke in 2016, will produce the series with FremantleMedia International holding global sales rights.

The first four hour-long episodes will premiere on BBC2 in the UK in 2019. UKTV’s Dave network will then air six further exclusive episodes later in the year, as well as its own versions of the BBC episodes.

Backshall has previously fronted Down the Mighty River and Extreme Mountain Challenge for BBC2.

Richard Watsham, UKTV’s director of commissioning, said: “This is a truly innovative commissioning model that forges an exciting new partnership between two of Britain’s leading free-to-air broadcasters.

“The fact that both the BBC and FremantleMedia want to invest in Expedition is a testament to the spectacular scale of this project. Our strategy to raise UKTV Originals to new heights is gathering pace.”

The BBC’s commercial and production arm BBC Studios (fka BBC Worldwide) is a 50/50 joint-venture partner in UKTV with Scripps Networks Interactive, which was recently acquired by Discovery.