91Èȱ¬

Alison Kirkham, Commissioning Editor for Factual Formats and Features, today unveiled two new six-part series across 91Èȱ¬ One and 91Èȱ¬ Two for 2011. Sarah Beeny is to join the 91Èȱ¬ for the first time to present Village SOS on 91Èȱ¬ One and Caroline Quentin is to present Restoration 91Èȱ¬ on 91Èȱ¬ Two.

Village SOS is produced by 91Èȱ¬ Cymru Wales for 91Èȱ¬ One and follows an attempt to breathe new life into rural villages fighting to survive by starting up new businesses. Restoration 91Èȱ¬ on 91Èȱ¬ Two is produced by Remarkable Television, an Endemol Company, and follows private owners of crumbling historic buildings as they save them from ruin and restore them into wonderful 21st-century homes.

Alison Kirkham said: "Formats and Features on 91Èȱ¬ One and 91Èȱ¬ Two reflect life around us – whether that's the very real issue of starting a business, the threat to rural villages and giving everything up to move to the country on 91Èȱ¬ One in Village SOS, or whether it's a more in-depth look at history, restoration and reclamation through 91Èȱ¬ Two's Restoration 91Èȱ¬.

"We're also thrilled to have such experienced and knowledgeable talent joining the channels to add to the diverse line-up of presenters. Not only are Sarah Beeny and Caroline Quentin popular personalities but their backgrounds and personal experiences lend themselves perfectly to the themes in their respective programmes. Sarah Beeny is a shrewd business woman and entrepreneur and Caroline Quentin has a background in restoring homes – both are passionate communicators."

In Village SOS for 91Èȱ¬ One, Sarah Beeny follows the triumphs, tears and tantrums in six villages around Britain as they take on ambitious schemes to start new businesses and revitalise their local communities. Sarah, who maintains her own property and investment business and owns successful internet sites as well as being one of TV's best-loved home improvement experts, follows the progress of the villages as they tackle the realities of turning their brilliant first ideas into viable business projects.

The six villages, which were all awarded grants from the Big Lottery Fund to start their new enterprises, are filmed across a year as they kick-start their new ventures. The series is produced by Nicola Pointer for 91Èȱ¬ Cymru Wales and the executive producer is Meredith Chambers and Pete Lawrence for the 91Èȱ¬.

In Restoration 91Èȱ¬, Caroline Quentin has a deep passion for old buildings and admits to being a serial home restorer over the last decade. With the help of architectural expert Kieran Long, and social historian Dr Kate Williams, Restoration 91Èȱ¬ turns detective to unravel the extraordinary lives of the properties.

As the new owners transform the buildings into their homes, the family trees of these crumbling ruins start to emerge. Tales of kings and queens, murder, civil unrest, moments that shocked and shaped Britain are revealed as these once forgotten gems are brought back to life.

As each building is rescued from the brink of dereliction by its new owners, secrets long since forgotten of previous ones will be revealed. Executive produced by Annette Clarke for Remarkable Television, Lisa Edwards is the Commissioning executive producer for the 91Èȱ¬.

Notes to Editors

Formats and Features on 91Èȱ¬ One include a broad range of programming from shows about broad issues and consumer journalism such as Great British Waste Menu and Watchdog, to formatted shows about complex topics like science and engineering in Wallace And Gromit's Cracking Inventions and The Boat That Guy Built, business and countryside issues in Village SOS and the hugely popular returning series Crimewatch, Countryfile, Antiques Roadshow, Points Of View and DIY SOS.

Formats and Features on 91Èȱ¬ Two are focused on in-depth knowledge from history in Restoration 91Èȱ¬ to film through 91Èȱ¬ Movie Roadshow, the story of our island in returning series Coast to harnessing really popular presenters like Giles and Sue on sustainability or Oz and Hugh on wine. 

The channel also has a vast portfolio of gardening shows which include Gardeners' World, Alan Titchmarsh's Garden Secrets, Alan At Highgrove, Monty Don's Italian Gardens and topical strands Chelsea and Hampton Court flower shows. 91Èȱ¬ Two features also include cookery through talent as diverse as Nigella, The Hairy Bikers, Raymond Blanc, Lorraine Pascale, Sophie Dahl and Rick Stein.

AH