ITV tees up UK version of crazy golf format Holey Moley, orders moon mission thriller

In Holey Moley, crazy golf is played on an outsized course

UK commercial broadcaster ITV has commissioned a local version of US crazy golf format Holey Moley and greenlit a drama about the first woman on the moon.

Hosted by Ant & Dec, the four-part UK adaptation of Holey Moley is being coproduced by Fremantle-owned Talkback Thames and the presenting duo’s Mitre Studios.

Fremantle recently secured global distribution rights to the competition format, which was originally produced by Eureka Productions for US broadcast network ABC. The company also is completing a Holey Moley production hub in Portimão, Portugal, where it hopes multiple local versions of the show will be filmed as the format finds new buyers around the world.

In the show, contestants face off on mini-golf courses featuring obstacles such as erupting volcanoes, planetary rings and slippery slopes.

The ITV version was commissioned by Katie Rawcliffe, director of entertainment, reality and daytime commissioning, and Kevin O’Brien, entertainment and reality commissioning editor.

Meanwhile, ITV has ordered six-part lunar thriller First Woman, starring Andrea Riseborough and Ashley Walters. The show has been created by Lydia Yeoman (Curfew) and George Oakes, while Emmy and BAFTA winner Philip Martin is the director.

First Woman is being coproduced by ITV Studios-backed Mammoth Screen (Code of Silence, Towards Zero, Betrayal), Alcon Television Group (Blade Runner 2099, The Expanse), and German broadcaster ZDF.

Alcon Television Group and ITV Studios are co-financing the show, which focuses on the first woman to set foot on the moon as she goes missing during the mission.

The series is produced by Julia Stannard (War & Peace, The Bombing of Pan Am 103) and directed by Philip Martin (Scoop, The Crown). It is being filmed in Belfast, with support from Northern Ireland Screen.