Discovery lines up UK crime

Investigation Discovery is pushing into original commissioning in the UK with a trio of series orders from local prodcos.

Clare Laycock

The Discovery Networks International-owned channel is moving into the ‘entertainment’ section of the EPG on Virgin Media next month and is preparing by building up an originals slate.

British Police Murdered on Duty (3×60’) is fronted by Rav Wilding and produced by Woodcut Media, telling the stories of the most infamous police killings of the past 50 years. Keshet International is selling the show globally under the title Murdered in the Line of Duty.

Britain’s Deadliest Lovers (6×60’) is being produced by Crackit Productions and details real-life stories of love that end in murder through reconstruction and interviews.

Rav Wilding

This series includes the real story behind hit drama The Secret, Northern Ireland’s notorious double murder by dentist Colin Howell, who gassed his wife and love rival with the help of his lover.

Faking It: Tears of a Crime (2×60’), meanwhile, is bring produced by Shearwater Media and looks at the phenomenon of high-profile criminal cases where people publicly claim innocence despite their guilt.

The slate was ordered by Clare Laycock, VP and head of TLC and Investigation Discovery in the UK and Ireland, and commissioned by Mark Procter, Discovery’s acting head of factual entertainment.