Category: 91Èȱ¬ THREE; TV Ent
Date: 17.10.2005
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"Fame, fame, fatal fame. It can play hideous tricks on the brain." Morrissey
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Filming starts in January 2006 for Teenage Supermodel (working title), a brand new comedy for 91Èȱ¬ THREE written by Carmel Morgan (The Royle Family, Shameless, Coronation Street) with additional material by Jan McVerry (Playing the Field, Clocking Off) and Stephen Russell (Big Train).
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The Webbs are average, white, working-class Brits. Three kids, modest semi on a down-at-heel estate, a few grand on a few credit cards, two weeks in Benidorm every August, tight-knit gang of mates, in-laws within spitting distance, Saturday night down the Belgrave, Sunday roast at Nana's, same numbers on the lottery every week. Dead normal.
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But when daughter Ashley gets spotted by a model scout, she is unexpectedly thrust into the limelight. and life for the Webbs can never be normal again.
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The series shows what can happen when fame and fortune unexpectedly knock on the door and the impact on all concerned.
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Casting for the series will be announced shortly and is being handled by Beverley Keogh, who was responsible for casting 91Èȱ¬ ONE's Clocking Off and Channel 4's Shameless.
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She will be casting the two Webb daughters, Ashley and Jade, from amongst genuinely new and raw talent in Manchester and Salford.
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Stuart Murphy, Controller of 91Èȱ¬ THREE, said: "Teenage Supermodel is 91Èȱ¬ THREE's first commission from Hat Trick North Productions.
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"It reinforces our commitment to producing strong comedy out of London, and we hope that it'll build on the success of Ideal and I'm With Stupid, both of which are Manchester comedies for 91Èȱ¬ THREE.
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"Importantly, it will feature brand new talent from the North West. We're delighted to have attracted the prodigious talent of Carmel Morgan to the channel for her first television series."
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Mario Stylianides, Executive Producer, Hat Trick Productions, said: "We are hoping that Teenage Supermodel will be watched and enjoyed by a genuine family audience, with appeal for both the 25 to 35-year-old market and, unusually, viewers who are the same age as Ashley Webb - 15 years and above.
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"Ultimately, this series has the potential to introduce a whole new audience to the unique programming mix of 91Èȱ¬ THREE."
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The series will be filmed in January 2006 in Manchester and is made by Hat Trick Productions for 91Èȱ¬ THREE.
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The Executive Producer for the 91Èȱ¬ is Cheryl Taylor, while Mario Stylianides and Mark Redhead are Executive Producers for Hat Trick. The producer is Juliet Charlesworth.
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Notes to Editors
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Most recently, 91Èȱ¬ THREE was named Best Non-Terrestrial Channel of the Year 2005 at the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, and Best General Entertainment Channel 2005 at the Broadcast Digital Channel of the Year Awards.
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91Èȱ¬ THREE has won six Bafta awards, five British Comedy awards, 15 RTS Awards and five Rose d'Or Awards since the channel launched in February 2003.
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91Èȱ¬ THREE is watched by almost nine million individuals a week in peak time, behind only ITV2.
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91Èȱ¬ THREE is watched by more 25 to 34-year-olds than any other digital channel in peak time (33% a week).
Share among all individuals in digital homes is 1.7% - behind only ITV2 and Sky One; share among 25 to 34-year-olds in digital homes is 2.4% - behind only ITV2 and Sky One.
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Weekly reach to 91Èȱ¬ THREE has increased by 28% year-on-year - the largest growth of all the major digital channels in the UK.
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Weekly reach also increased among 25 to 34-year-olds by 23% - again the largest growth of all the major digital channels in the UK.
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All data is for January-September 2005 and is between the hours of 7.00pm and 2.00am.
