‘Celebrity Race Across The World’ Renewed For Season 2 At BBC; Ross Kemp Mafia Show; Miso Film MD Departs; Rare TV Hire; ‘Winx Club’ Creator Taps Former WarnerMedia Exec – Global Briefs

Max Goldbart
·5 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

‘Celebrity Race Across The World’ Renewed For Season 2 At BBC

Celebrity Race Across the World has landed a second season on the BBC. The format from Traitors maker Studio Lambert sees pairings featuring one celebrity and a parent, sibling or friend set a challenge to head on an epic adventure on a limited budget. In Season 1, which the BBC said is its “biggest factual entertainment brand of the year to date,” the likes of McFly drummer Harry Judd and broadcaster Alex Beresford were set the task of racing from Africa to the Arctic. Season 2’s route will be revealed in due course. The non-celebrity version has run for three seasons and has also been a big hit for the BBC. Factual entertainment boss Catherine Catton said she had been “delighted with the reaction particularly from young audiences” to Season 1 of the celebrity run. The news comes just a few days after the BBC also recommissioned Studio Lambert’s The Traitors for a third season before the second has even aired. All3Media International distributes Race Across the World and The Traitors globally.

More from Deadline

Ross Kemp Behind UK Mafia Show For Sky History

Ross Kemp is to explore Britain’s 100-year-old links with the mafia in a Sky History show. The EastEnders and On Gangs star, whose big-budget Channel 5 prisons series is currently on pause, will discover a complex relationship between his home nation and the mafia in a five-part series produced by his Freshwater Films, Honey Bee and GroupM Motion Entertainment, titled Ross Kemp: Mafia and Britain [working title]. Since the UK does not recognize membership of the mafia as a crime, it has at various points in history become a safe haven for mafia ‘Cosa nostra’ lieutenants, ‘soldiers’ and hit men who have hidden all over the UK in locations as unlikely as caravan parks and newsagents. Kemp has already made shows on shipwreck treasure for Sky History. “I’m looking forward to taking viewers into unchartered territory as we discover the relationship between Britain and one of the most notorious organised crime groups in the world, the mafia.” The series was commissioned and executive produced by Dan Korn, VP of Programming at A+E Networks EMEA, with Diana Carter, Commissioning Editor and Head of Talent at A+E Networks EMEA. Last month, Deadline revealed Kemp’s big-budget 72 Hours In … series was on pause following an incident as Channel 5 and producers try to revive the show, although it remains on pause. He has also returned to acting for the first time in 15 years, helming Channel 5’s Blindspot.

Fremante-Backed Miso Film MD To Exit

Max Hallén, MD of Fremantle-backed Lust producer Miso Film, is exiting after two years in the role and will be replaced by the promoted Rachel Bodros Wolgers. The pair will work together until Hallén’s departure early next year, with the latter taking over from January 1. Miso Film’s recent credits include HBO Max’s Lust and Viaplay’s R.S.V.P., CELL 8 and BOX 21 based on Roslund & Hellströms novels. It is currently shooting the TV-series Faithless with SVT and ARTE. Miso Film is overseen by The Investigation maker Miso Group, which is overseen by Peter Bose. “Rachel has been a part of the Miso team for more than five years and as a skilled producer of several successful shows and with a background from distribution, I’m sure she will continue the success and growth of Miso Film Sweden,” said Bose. “Max has led the company through difficult times with a safe hand and I wish him the best of luck with his new journey.”

Gordon Ramsay’s Ex-Creative Director Joins Rare TV

The former Creative Director of Gordon Ramsay’s production company has joined Digging for Britain maker Rare TV. At Rare, Fernando de Jesus will also take up a Creative Director post, charged with developing the London-headquartered company’s output of popular factual programing. He was with Ramsay’s Fox Entertainment-backed indie Studio Ramsay Global for four years, working on the likes of Kitchen Nightmares, Next Level Chef and ITV’s The Savoy before departing at the start of 2023, replaced soon after by Shona Baldwin. “In a world that demands bigger and better, Fernando is regarded as one of the most creative minds in television and crucially someone commissioners really enjoy working with,” said Rare CEO Alexander Gardiner. De Jesus is the third key creative to join Rare in the last six months. In May, story consultant and executive producer Greg Chivers was appointed to the newly created role of U.S. showrunner, while development producer Abigail Keyes joined the company’s Belfast-based team.

Former WarnerMedia Exec Thomas J. Ciampa Joins Winx Club Creator Rainbow Group

Former WarnerMedia Italy, Spain and Portugal boss Thomas J. Ciampa has been appointed COO of Rainbow Group, the independent, Italian-owned entertainment giant best known as the creator of the Winx Club franchise.  Italo-American exec Ciampa will play a key role in the strategic development of the Rainbow Group portfolio, helping to devise new development and investment strategies. “He will be responsible for the development of all areas of the group with a focus on international projects and co-productions. It will be a real pleasure to work with Thomas at my side on the many visionary projects we have in mind for the coming years,” commented Iginio Straffi, Founder, President, and CEO of the Rainbow Group. Rainbow Group controls more than 150 creative content licenses while its subsidiaries include the Canadian CGI and VFX animation studio Bardel Inc, and Maurizio Totti’s Rome-based production company Colorado Film.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.