Fellowes gets factual for ITV

UK terrestrial ITV has turned to Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes for a two-part factual programme on the great old houses of England.

NBCUniversal-owned Chocolate Media will produce Historical Houses (wt), a 2×60′ show where Fellowes explores the background and stories of some of Britain’s oldest and grandest homes.

The executive producer is Alan Brown and the programme was commissioned by factual commissioning editor Diana Howie and director of factual and daytime Alison Sharman.

Fellowes has previously been known for his drama on ITV. Downton Abbey is a runaway success in the UK and abroad but his Titanic drama series fared less well when it aired earlier this year – falling from 7.4 million viewers in its first episode to 3.4 million by the end of its four-part run.

Chocolate Media is a division of NBCUniversal International Television Production that has produced Raymond Blanc: The Very Hungry Frenchman for BBC2, Downton Abbey: Behind The Drama for ITV, and 10 Things I Hate About for Channel 5 since forming a year ago.