C4 lines up Junior Bake Off, Tennant drama

Comedian Harry Hill will host Junior Bake Off

UK broadcaster Channel 4 (C4) has commissioned four new shows including a junior edition of The Great British Bake Off and a thriller starring David Tennant.

Junior Bake Off will see 40 nine- to 15-year-olds compete against each other, with comedian Harry Hill hosting the 15-part series, while regular judge Prue Leith will preside alongside former contestant Liam Charles.

It is the first time the junior edition will air on C4 after the broadcaster outbid the BBC for the main Love Productions series in 2016. The latter will produce the junior version, with Kieran Smith and Ollie Manley exec producing.

Meanwhile, Deadwater Fell (working title) is a 4×60’ thriller starring David Tennant (Dr Who, Broadchurch) and Cush Jumbo (The Good Fight, The Good Wife, Vera).

Written by Daisy Coulam (Humans, Grantchester) and produced by Endemol Shine Group’s Kudos, the psychological drama follows two families in the aftermath of a horrific crime.

Executive producing are Emma Kingsman-Lloyd (Humans, Grantchester) and Karen Wilson (Utopia, The Tunnel). Filming starts this month entirely on location in Scotland.

On a lighter note, TV judge Rob Rinder is set to host The Rob Rinder Show (wt), a four-part topical entertainment series in which the sharp-tongued judge shares his opinions on news stories and current events in the company of celebrity guests.

The series follows Rinder’s end-of-year review show for C4 in December. Produced by Expectation, The Rob Rinder Show will air later this year, with Ben Wicks exec producing.

The final programme in C4’s latest slate of commissions, Sink or Swim (wt), will see a group of celebrities with poor swimming skills receive training to transform them into strong swimmers, faced with the ultimate open-water challenge: swimming the English Channel.

British sprinter and Olympic gold medallist Linford Christie and Coronation Street star Sair Khan are among the initial participants. The 4×60’ series, produced by ITV Studios’ Twofour, is in aid of the Stand Up To Cancer campaign. Mel Leach, Andrew Mackenzie and Caroline Davies are exec producing.