TOWIE crosses North Sea

UK constructed reality series The Only Way is Essex is heading into Denmark, after a deal secured by distributor All3Media International.

The series, known as TOWIE, has been acquired by SBS Denmark’s digital service 7’eren, which will air all nine seasons of the series. The channel is a re-branding of SBS’s music channel Voice TV, which will have a new profile geared toward the 15-25 demographic.

“I’ve been a huge fan of TOWIE for such a long time,” said Tina Moreton, head of acquisitions at SBS in Denmark. “I have no doubt it will fit perfectly.”

The series, which pioneered the ‘prompted reality’ genre in the UK, is produced for ITV2 by All3-backed Lime Pictures. It has previously been sold to XYZ-owned LifeStyle You in Australia and New Zealand, Yes Drama in Israel, TVNorge’s FEM network in Norway, TV5 in Finland, TV11 in Sweden and TV3 in Ireland.

The news comes after Lime’s creative director Tony Wood announced to staff yesterday that he would be leaving the company in the New Year, after seven years. As well as TOWIE, Wood was responsible for Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.