'The Bill' sparks Eastern European success for Freemantle

Fremantle International Distribution (FID), the distribution arm of FremantleMedia, has Russian licensing agreement for the UK’s most successful police drama series, 'The Bill'.
Having previously aired 50 episodes of The Bill, Russian terrestrial broadcaster Center TV has licensed another 140 episodes, to commence in early 2005.
Russian viewers will also be able to look forward to some gripping storylines including an explosion following some racial tension between a section of the Sun Hill community and the police, the loss of some of the drama’s regular characters and a host of new ones.
Celebrating 20 years on UK screens this year, The Bill is one of ITV1’s most successful and enduring drama series. It draws consistent audience shares 40% higher than the broadcaster’s average, wins its timeslot and holds a permanent place in the country’s top 10 programmes. It won the National TV Award for Most Popular Drama this year and has previously been nominated for a BAFTA and shortlisted for a Rose d’Or.
Robert Niemann, FID Vice President of Sales for German speaking Europe, Italy and Eastern Europe said: “Russians are big fans of European drama. Center TV, in particular, was keen to air a good quality European police drama like The Bill as it demonstrates the relationship Europeans, in this case Britons, have with their police force. This is something the Russian state hopes to be able to emulate.”
The Bill is produced by FremantleMedia’s UK production company, Thames – part of UK production arm talkbackTHAMES, and currently airs on a number of major networks in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Russia.
(GB)