Orange Smarty sells factual to Australia, NZ

Broadcasters in Australia and New Zealand have acquired 370 hours of factual programming from independent UK distributor Orange Smarty.

Brighton-based Orange Smarty has sold content to broadcasters including Foxtel, SBS, TVNZ, Sky, ABC and Prime New Zealand.

Australian commercial channel Foxtel has licensed a 200-hour documentary package from the five-year-old distributor, headlined by CTVC’s Pilgrimage: The Road to Santiago (3×45′), produced for BBC2.

Foxtel has also bought recently announced follow-up series, Pilgrimage: The Road to Rome (3×45′), which will air on BBC2 later this year.

The travelogue series sees seven famous faces of varying faiths and beliefs follow the well-trodden medieval pilgrimage routes, living as simple modern pilgrims.

SBS in Australia, meanwhile, has taken three 44-minute specials from the Stacey Dooley Investigates strand on BBC3: Gypsy Kids in Crisis, Sex in Strange Places and The Young & Homeless.

Elsewhere, ABC in Australia has bought Heal Me in the Name of Jesus, produced by Bullion Productions for BBC3. The single documentary looks at Australian faith healer John Mellor, who claims he can cure people through the power of Jesus. Emily Yates, a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy, sets out to discover whether there is any truth to his claims.