Sky & Channel 4 Ink F1 Finale Deal; First Look At Lily James Rom-Com; BBC’s ‘Glow Up’ Commissioner Joins Wall To Wall; BBC Panto Cast Revealed — UK Briefs

Andreas Wiseman
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Formula 1 Finale Goes Terrestrial

Sky has inked a deal with Channel 4 for Sky Sports’ live coverage of the Formula 1 season finale to also air on the free to air channel this Sunday. Lewis Hamilton stands on the brink of history – victory in Abu Dhabi would clinch an unprecedented eighth world title. The Brit is currently on equal points with adversary Max Verstappen. Sky is billing the race as ‘Lewis v Max: Decider in the Desert’. Earlier this year Channel 4 struck a lucrative deal with Amazon to share the streamer’s coverage of the US Open featuring Brit Emma Raducanu and the broadcaster also secured the Cricket World Cup final from Sky. The F1 deal is likely to be a similarly costly pact. Stephen van Rooyen, EVP & CEO UK & Europe Sky said: “Sunday’s Grand Prix is one of the biggest sporting events in the last decade, and could be an historic moment for British sport. We’ve chosen to gift the race to the whole country at Christmas through our partnership with Channel 4, so everyone can be part of a huge national moment as Lewis Hamilton goes for a historic eighth World Championship title.” The Times was first to break the news of the deal.

More from Deadline

What’s Love Got To Do With It? First Look

Here’s your first look at Studiocanal and Working Title’s rom-com What’s Love Got To Do With It? starring Lily James, Shazad Latif, Emma Thompson, Sajal Aly, Shabana Azmi, Asim Chaudhry, Mim Shaikh andJeff Mirza. Shekhar Kapur directs from Jemima Khan’s script. Set to release next year, it has been announced today that British-Pakistani record producer, DJ, songwriter, and musician Naughty Boy will be doing music for the film. Rahat Fateh Ali Khanhas also recorded two songs for the soundtrack and will appear in the film. The film follows documentary filmmaker Zoe (James), for whom swiping right to find Mr Right has only delivered bad dates and funny anecdotes, much to her opinionated mother Cath’s (Thompson) dismay. For her childhood friend and neighbour Kazim (Latif), the answer is to follow his parents’ example and opt for an arranged marriage with a bright and beautiful bride from Pakistan. As Zoe films his hopeful journey from London to Lahore to marry a stranger, chosen by his parents, she begins to wonder if she might have something to learn from a different approach to finding love.

Glow Up Commissioner Joins Wall To Wall

The BBC’s Glow Up commissioner Emily Smith has joined Long Lost Family producer Wall To Wall in the newly-created role of Creative Director. Starting in March and joining the senior management team, Smith, who has been with the BBC for nearly four years, will focus on developing and delivering new factual formats and large-scale fact-ent series. She commissioned Wall to Wall’s BBC3 reality series Glow Up and has been behind the likes of Forensics: The Real CSI and Abused By My Girlfriend. Wall to Wall has a hefty factual and drama slate and is currently producing the BBC’s revival of school drama Waterloo Road with Cameron Roach’s Rope Ladder Fiction.

BBC Two Panto Cast Revealed

BBC Two Comic Relief pantomime Beauty And The Beast will star Lily James, Oliver Chris, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Sian Gibson, Susan Wokoma, Celia Imrie, Simon Bird, Pam Ferris and Tom Rosenthal. Guz Khan is the narrator. Writers are Ben Crocker, Dawson Bros and Richard Curtis. Guest stars will include Miranda Hart, Lenny Henry, David Tennant, David Walliams and Michael Sheen. Beauty And The Beast comes off the back of last year’s Cinderella, which starred Regé-Jean Page, Olivia Colman, Helena Bonham Carter, Anya Taylor Joy and Daniel Craig. The show raised close to £900,000 for Comic Relief. The event will air on Sunday 19th December at 9pm on BBC Two. The Studio Crook production was commissioned by Kate Phillips, Director of Entertainment Commissioning.

Best of Deadline

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