Bargain Loving Brits allow Zinc’s Red Sauce to spread in Manchester and London

Bargain Loving Brits

UK production outfit Zinc Media Group’s factual label Red Sauce is expanding its teams in London and Manchester after ViacomCBS-owned Channel 5 commissioned it to make 52 hours of programming.

The order spans new seasons of C5’s observational documentary series Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun (6×60′), Bargain Loving Brits by the Sea (6×60′) and a new spin-off, Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun: Costa Living (40×60′).

The Bargain Loving Brits franchise charts the lives of Brits who’ve swapped the damp and grey of the UK for a new life in the UK’s most popular holiday destination, Spain. The latest spin-off features both Benidorm and the Costa del Sol and is distributed internationally by Passion Distribution.

Tom Edwards

The commissions join the recent 10-part series order from Dave for Special Ops: Crime Squad UK, the first time that Zinc Media Group has worked with the UKTV-owned channel.

As a result of the new orders, Red Sauce, which launched in 2020, is scaling up both its London and Manchester production and development teams to cover more than 100 roles, with the majority of the positions located in Manchester.

Tom Edwards, creative director at Red Sauce and former producer and commissioning editor at BBC Factual, said: “Volume commissions of returning series are the holy grail – and very precious. It enables us to invest in great production talent in both London and especially in Manchester, and significantly grow our presence.

“We are also in the final stages of confirming a brand-funded series, as well as being in paid development on a high-profile talent-driven project, both for major broadcasters. And we will soon announce new hires that will double the size of our development team.”