European pubcasters get Smarty content

Trevor McDonald & the Killer Nurse focuses on murder Beverly Allitt

A string of public broadcasters across Europe have picked up factual content from UK-based independent distributor Orange Smarty.

The deals with DR in Denmark, SVT (Sweden), VRT (Belgium), KRO-NCRV (Netherlands) and Ceska Televize (Czech Republic) were announced today by Karen Young, founder and CEO of Orange Smarty.

DR has acquired a package of documentaries including Trevor McDonald & the Killer Nurse, Wildman to Ironman and three titles from UK producer True Vision: Born on the Breadline, Behind Closed Doors: Through the Eyes of a Child and Stacey Dooley: The Young & Homeless.

In 50-minute doc Trevor McDonald & the Killer Nurse, produced by ITN Productions for ITV, journalist and newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald investigates one of the UK’s worst serial killers, Beverly Allitt, a nurse who murdered and abused several children in her care in 1991.

Wildman to Ironman, from UK prodco One Tribe TV, follows Dirty Sanchez star Matt Pritchard’s transition from hard-partying drug addict to ultra-fit endurance athlete. The show was originally commissioned for UK pubcaster BBC1 Wales.

Born on the Breadline, a film produced for UK net Channel 4’s Dispatches strand, reveals that more than 35,000 UK parents are now turning to baby banks to provide their children with essentials like nappies, clothes, food and prams.

Children are also at the heart of Bafta-winning director Anna Hall’s 60-minute documentary Behind Closed Doors: Through the Eyes of a Child, made for BBC2 by Yorkshire-based True Vision. The film tells the stories of children who have witnessed domestic abuse, and the ongoing effect this has had on their lives.

Stacey Dooley: The Young & Homeless is an observational doc that follows three young people as they navigate their way through teenage life without the security of a home. The 59-minute film for BBC1, presented by Stacey Dooley, has also been acquired by VRT and SVT.

Meanwhile, KRO-NCRV has acquired Dirty Vegan for NPO3. Another One Tribe show for BBC Wales focusing on Pritchard, the series looks to prove that vegan food can make you fitter, stronger and healthier while also tasting great.

Ceska TV has taken a trio of documentaries, including Living with My Supersized Pets. The 60-minute film, from Barcroft Productions for C4, explores why some people choose to own pets that could feasibly kill them, such as bears, crocodiles and buffalo.

On the other end of the animal spectrum for Ceska is Meet the Hedgehogs (3×60’), an Athena Films production for Viacom-owned UK terrestrial Channel 5. Also headed for Ceska is English National Opera’s interpretation of Berlioz’s first opera, Benvenuto Cellini.

Orange Smarty has also sold the new season of A Place in the Sun, C4’s property-search format produced by Freeform Productions, to Ananey Communications in Israel, Medialaan in Belgium, The Home Channel in South Africa and BBC Poland.