Ground-breaking social justice format set to air in the UK

Independent international distribution company Lineup Industries’ bold, pioneering format The Bully Project is to air in the UK.  ITV has commissioned UK production company Fresh One to produce the ground-breaking series. The format uses footage of children’s life experiences to seek a revolutionary restorative approach to tackling bullying in communities.

Coming originally from Dutch producer Skyhigh TV, The Bully Project has already aired to critical and audience acclaim in the Netherlands on RTL and was optioned from Lineup Industries by Fresh One for the UK last year.

Beyond the UK commission, the format has also been optioned internationally in multiple territories.

Controversial, unorthodox and remedial, The Bully Project seeks to help young victims of bullying to shine a light on what it is actually like for them by secretly filming their day to day life. The footage is collected and edited to entirely conceal the identities of those involved in the bullying, in line with the series aim to achieve resolution for the victim, not to name, shame or blame any groups or individuals.  It is then shown to the child’s family and then their schools and peer group with the help of the presenter and experts who support the young people and encourage discussion about making changes collectively to resolve and improve the situation.  The production of the series has been supported by government-funded organization, Anti-Bullying Ambassadors.

The series is commissioned for ITV by Jo Clinton-Davis, Controller of Factual with Richard Klein, Director of Factual.

Jo said: “We’ve all known bullying, whether victim,  perpetrator or simply witness.  So this series, highlighting an endemic issue through the most personal and emotional  of stories, will touch all of us as well as providing a real opportunity to be an agent of real and positive change for those involved.”

“This is such an innovative way of tackling the devastating impact of bullying – shining a light of hope into the lives of those being bullied in a postive way.  This show has no desire to name or blame anyone but instead to show the daily impact of bullying on one child’s life and, importantly, to make it better.  The results from the Dutch series were inspirational,” says Claudia Rosencrantz, Chief Executive of the Jamie Oliver Media Group.

Julian Curtis, co-founder of Lineup Industries adds: “We are committed to partnering with the best possible producers and broadcasters on this project to ensure it is handled with the sensitivity and professionalism demanded by the subject matter. Bullying is a prevalent problem in British schools – with over 46% of children and young people directly affected by it at some point during their education*. Lineup Industries is proud to be partnering with Fresh One and ITV to give this issue a national platform in the UK.”

Lineup Industries is an independent distribution business that offers a global, tailored and competitive approach to format sales and derived IP, headed by studio executives with more than 20 years experience in international television distribution and IP management across globally-recognised successes such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Big Brother, Dragon’s Den and Deal or No Deal.

* http://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/research/key-statistics/