BBC Lifestyle, DStv channel 174, have secured a broadcast partnership with SABC for a new season of the hit dating show. Dinner Date South Africa season 2 will be the third local commission for BBC Studios audiences in South Africa this year.
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BBC Lifestyle is the number one international lifestyle channel on DStv and the home to very best in local and global hit dating and romance shows. Following the success of season one of Dinner Date South Africa, the popular dating competition series which puts love on the menu, it will be returning to screens in 2020 with a brand new line up of daters, willing to host a blind date in their homes in their quest to find a partner.
Dinner Date follows one person who is given the chance to find true love over three meals, each cooked by a blind date in their own home. In each episode a participant will choose three menus from five put together by prospective partners. They then go on three dates with the “chefs”, who cook them a meal in their own homes. After the three dates, all the chefs prepare for a night out at a swanky restaurant, but the participant can only choose one to go with – leaving the other two with a night in alone and a takeaway.
The broadcast partnership with SABC was brokered by Joel Churcher at BBC Studios. The series will once again be produced locally by Quizzical Pictures. Season two will be made up of 13 episode and will launch on channel 174 in 2020 with a second broadcast on SABC 3 in late 2020.
This will be BBC Studios third local commission in 2019 following season five of the ratings hit Come Dine With Me South Africa, which premiered on BBC Brit, channel 120 earlier this year and the brand new First Dates South Africa, coming to BBC Lifestyle from Wednesday 16 October at 8pm. This increase in volume of local content demonstrates BBC Studios ongoing commitment to its audiences in South Africa and its ongoing ambition to bring the very best of hit global and local programmes to all of its viewers.
Katie Benbow, Director of Programming EMEA, BBC Studios said, “We are thrilled to be bringing a third local commission to our African audiences this year. We have seen dating as a genre only grow in popularity, so it was an easy decision to increase our output within the genre and bring back another season of Dinner Date. As we know from our shows like Come Dine With Me South Africa, this country has a fantastic array of big, bold and bolshie personalities, so I cannot wait to see the new line up of daters for the show. We are excited to be partnering with Quizzical Pictures to make the series and to have secured a broadcast partnership with SABC so their audiences can also enjoy the popular dating competition – I am sure it will promise more laughs, cringes and shocking chat up lines than ever before!”
Harriet Gavshon, Executive Producer for Quizzical Pictures said, ”We are proud to embark with BBC Lifestyle and SABC3 on a fresh new season of Dinner Date South Africa. Audiences can expect a winning recipe of great personalities, menu magic and the unpredictable mash up of blind date banter. We look forward to building on the worldwide success of the format and creating a uniquely South African series that will appeal to all viewers.”
Hamilton Ngubo, Programming Manager for SABC3 said, “SABC 3 is excited about partnering with BBC Lifestyle for the first time to bring more quality local content to all South Africans. SABC 3 strives to offer a variety of programmes with both local and international relevance and appeal. Dinner Date South Africa is the ideal vehicle to showcase our channel’s range and diversity. Dinner Date South Africa season 1 was a success for SABC 3 as it launched the new primetime programming campaign ‘The Stage Is Yours”.
Originally produced by Hat Trick Productions, Dinner Date UK has sold to more than 65 countries around the world. The South African version adds to local adaptations in France (Direct 8), Australia (Channel Seven) and Finland (MTV3). Now in its 9th series, the UK version produced by indie Hat Trick Productions, continues to be a ratings hit on ITVBe.
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