Tyrone Productions sells dating show to Ukraine

Tyrone Productions and FremantleMedia have sold Date with Fate, a reality television show developed under RTÉ's Format Farm initiative, to Ukrainian commercial television company 1+1 Group.

First piloted on RTÉ in February, Date with Fate was created by the Irish-owned Tyrone Productions with FremantleMedia on board as the global production and distribution partner.

After showcasing the pilot at the MIPTV television marketplace in Cannes, the show attracted “substantial” international attention and has now signed its first format sale.

In Date with Fate, the singleton contestants choose their partners based on photos of what the person might look like in 30 years' time – horrifyingly, they are also shown computer-generated images of their potential offspring.

Tyrone executive producer Noleen Golding said the company believed the show had "universal appeal".

The production house, which made the pilot in its Northern Ireland office, said it was in “advanced talks” with other international broadcasters and had also held discussions with RTÉ about developing the series for the home market.