BBC Worldwide to bring in more of its hit reality shows to India

The Great British Bake Off and Tumble will be finding their way into India soon

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of British broadcaster BBC, which tasted success with franchising its hit reality TV show Dancing With the Stars in India as Jhalak Dikhla Ja, has now set its sights farther and higher.

Jhalak Dikhla Ja has had seven successful seasons in India. The format was a success across 60 countries.

The company now aims to bring in some more of its formats to India. One among these are The Great British Bake Off, often referred to as simply bake off or the GBBO, a BAFTA award-winning British television baking competition. It was first broadcast by BBC Two in August, 2010.

“We want to take our programmes to the regional markets, and have made a start with Dancing Star on ETV Kannada, a format of Dancing with the Stars. However, we will not dumb down any of our formats while seeking a larger audience,” Myleeta Aga, SVP & GM BBC Worldwide, India, and content head, Asia, told Business Standard.

GBBO had become the most popular programme on BBC 2. The programme saw 10 home bakers participate in a bake-off to test their baking skills, as they battled to be crowned the Great British Bake Off's best amateur baker.

The format has been sold to many countries where local versions of the show have been produced.

BBC Worldwide will also bring in another hit format Tumble (originally Let's Get Ready to Tumble) that features celebrities taking part in gymnastics to win votes of the public. Learning sessions were given on the basics of gymnastics to the celebrities who will participate. The show in Britain was backed by British Gymnastics.

The trainers were the same ones who trained Louis Smith and Beth Tweddle.

It was broadcast live over six episodes on BBC One, starting on August 9, 2014.

The show had Nadia Comaneci (the first gymnast to get a perfect 10), Louis Smith, Craig Heap and Sebastien Stella, among its panels of judges. On occasions, the judges would perform a routine. To prove a point, Aga said the BBC Worldwide will bring in Mastermind, the hit quiz format of BBC which will be making a return. However, they are yet to take a call on when it would bring in the format to India.