RTE is to begin broadcasting a new sixpart travel series on Monday. The difference from your average travel show lies in the age profile: Grey Voyagers looks at the stories of six "ordinary" people who range in age from 65 to 86. The show aims to "celebrate the amazing possibilities all of us can look forward to in our Third Age". The first programme, "Cyber Sisters", follows 72-year-old Cork woman Catherine Walshe, who overcame agoraphobia to travel overseas. For eight years, Walshe did not leave her home, but access to the Internet provided the contact she needed to help her to overcome her depression. Using seniors' chat rooms, she made online friends and the film follows her as she travels around the US in their company. Other travellers in the series include a 75year-old man motorbiking through India and Nepal and an 86-year-old woman who journeys to East Timor to help local women to set up a sewing co-operative. The series was produced by an Australian production company in association with RTE. The first programme was directed by Declan Eames, a former producer/director with RTE, who is now based in Melbourne.
TG4 is on the lookout for five new presenters for the second series of the travel show, Buail Bothar. The format of the show involves the presenters turning up at the airport with no idea where they're travelling to. They're then given a backpack, a cameraperson and a budget of about £150 a week, and sent off to a far-flung destination for a month. As well as exploring their destinations, the presenters will be expected to deal with a number of pre-set challenges, which could be anything from from trekking across a desert to exploring a rainforest. TG4 says the candidates need to be adventurous, resilient and, above all, resourceful. They must also be Irishspeaking and over 18. Auditions for the five places will take place in April, followed by an intensive three-day selection process. Would-be travellers can apply by calling freephone 1850-715855 or by emailing Nemeton TV Productions at eolas@nemeton.ie before Wednesday.
The annual television programme market, MIPTV, begins its five-day run in Cannes on Monday and is expected to attract thousands of broadcasters, production companies and programme buyers from 99 countries. Ten Irish companies will be exhibiting at the "Ireland On Screen" stand, sponsored by Enterprise Ireland and RTE. The trade fair is seen as an important opportunity for networking and selling programmes to a global marketplace. Magma Films, based in Galway, is confident of signing two major international co-production deals for animation series there.
Tyrone Productions is hoping to sell its successful Internet dating and travel show, Wanderlust, as a format to other broadcasters. Other companies travelling under the "Ireland On Screen" banner include Like It Love it, Network Ireland Television, Coco Television and Emdee Productions. The "Ireland On Screen" reception takes place at the Irish stand in the Palais des Festivals on Tuesday night.
BOTH BBC and Channel 4 unveiled details of their spring and summer schedules this week, with the Beeb's focus clearly on new drama and Channel 4 planning to screen some highly contentious material.
The BBC schedule includes 14 new dramas, but the centrepiece is a documentary series, Son of God, which takes an investigative approach to the life of Jesus Christ. It is presented by former BBC Middle East correspondent, Jeremy Bowen. The BBC claims the series will present an image of what Christ actually looked like. It will show a computer-generated image of the face of Christ, scientifically reconstructed using a combination of 2,000year-old Jewish skulls and ancient religious images.
Channel 4 is courting controversy by screening a once-banned scene from the comedy series, Brass Eye. The sketch, devised by comic satirist Chris Morris, shows how a well-known figure was duped into commenting on a fictitious plan to turn the Yorkshire Ripper story into a musical. Channel 4 is keeping the identity of the hapless interviewee under wraps until the broadcast. The channel has also revealed details of a series calling for the decriminalisation of heroin, as well as plans for a second version of Big Brother. Meanwhile, a new gameshow, Lost, follows teams of two contestants who are dropped in remote locations overseas and given a budget of just £100 sterling to make their way back to London.