BBC Two Commissions 'Back To Work: Confectioners'

BBC Two has announced it is to reveal the history of confectionary in a new three-part series.

'Back To Work: Confectioners' will see four modern-day confectioners go back over 450 years of social and economic history to discover more about the story of sugar. The workers will be immersed in three different eras to recreate dishes from the past using the original methods and recipes.

In the 3x60' series, they will learn the ornate sugar craft of the Elizabethan kitchens, create bon bons for the Georgians and experience mass production in a Victorian sweet factory. Led by experts as well as food and social historians, they will discover more about the history and social changes that were behind the rise of the sugar industry.

Rachel Morgan, Commissioning Editor, Specialist Factual said: "This series offers a unique and fascinating exploration into the intricacies of sugar craft as it follows four modern-day confectioners as they recreate incredible sweet treats using original recipes and methods. Whilst doing so, they also embark on a personal historical journey to reveal the dark past of sugar industry. Back to Work: Confectioners is a BBC Two living history commission at its purposeful best – enjoyable, steeped in authenticity and brimming with truth and revelation."

Emily Shields, Executive Producer for Wall to Wall, added: "We are delighted to be following the success of Victorian Bakers by bringing the culinary masterpieces of the past to life in Back to Work: Confectioners. This series will blend the trials and tribulations of our modern day sugar workers as they get to grips with the ingredients, methods and confections of the past with the extraordinary story of sugar – from a treat only tasted by the very elite of the Tudor court to the mass produced ingredient that's become so controversial today."

'Back To Work: Confectioners' is produced by Wall To Wall, a Warner Bros. Television Production UK Ltd Company. The Executive Producer at Wall to Wall is Emily Shields. The BBC Commissioning Editor is Rachel Morgan. Helen Nixon is the Series Producer.

www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre

(JP/MH)