ITV Takes On ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ With Celebrity Drag Format
ITV has greenlit a Lorraine Kelly-hosted drag format to rival RuPaul’s Drag Race UK with celebrities set to compete to be crowned the winning queen. Spice Girl Mel C, comedian Rob Beckett and drag superstar Courtney Act will form the judging panel for one-off 90-minute primetime special Queens for the Night from Lego Masters producer Tuesday’s Child. The celebrities, including UK daytime TV icon Mr Motivator and Love Island star Chris Hughes, will be mentored by well-known drag stars such as RuPaul favorites Blu Hydrangea and Kitty Scott-Claus, as they undergo a drag makeover and compete. RuPaul’s Drag Race UK has comfortably been BBC Three’s most successful and noisy show of the past three years and the move represents ITV’s entry into the space. The channel’s Head of Entertainment Commissioning Katie Rawcliffe said the show will “have all the wow factor you would expect from this wonderful celebration of drag.”
Season Two Of ‘Screw’ For Channel 4
UK network Channel 4 has commissioned a second series of Scottish prison drama Screw. Killing Eve scribe Rob Williams’ show from STV Studios follows a team of embattled prison officers, who experienced tragic events at the end of season one and may be sharing a prison with an undercover policeman in season two. His Dark Materials’ Nina Sosanya plays the lead alongside Derry Girls‘ Jamie-Lee O’Donnell in the highly-rated drama. “Rob has created an iconic Channel 4 prison series with a fantastic cast and we can’t wait to jump back into the drama, humanity and humour of life behind bars in series two,” said Channel 4 Head of Drama Caroline Hollick.
Banijay Options ‘Arnold the Super-ish Hero’
Banijay Kids and Family has signed an option agreement with Canadian children’s publisher Kids Can Press to develop a preschool series based on acclaimed picture book Arnold the Super-ish Hero. Written by Heather Tekavec and illustrated by Guillaume Perreault, the story follows Arnold, who helps out at his family’s superhero business. The only catch is that Arnold doesn’t have a superpower of his own, but one day a call comes into superhero HQ from a little girl in need and he jumps into action. “As soon as I read Arnold the Super-ish Hero, I fell in love with the character and the wonderful notion that kindness is a superpower,” said Gary Milner, Head of Content Development for Banijay Kids and Family.