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Leopard lands CBBC deal for kids’ series
Leopard Films has won its first kids' commission to produce a CBBC show in which former The Apprentice runner-up Saira Khan will hunt for the UK's most entrepreneurial children.
The 10 x 30-minute Trade Your Way To The USA has been created by Leopard Films and TV intermediary Amethyst Visions, and will focus on the buying-and-selling skills of 14 teams of three kids.
More than 1,000 would-be contestants have applied, and filming starts next week in Scotland, ahead of an autumn TX date.
The teams will be tasked with turning profits at events such as car-boot sales, city markets and country shows, selling items including computer games, toys or household items which they have purchased. The two finalists will be sent to the US for the last show.
Khan, who also fronted CBBC series Beat The Boss, will offer business advice and insight to the young contestants, aged 11 to 14.
James Burstall, Leopard's chief executive officer, has been actively targeting children's programming as an area that the company wants to push into.
"We want to develop more kids' TV shows because there's an appetite for quality programming," he said. "You can talk directly to the people who run the channel, commission and schedule the content, which allows it to become a much more collaborative project."
CBBC controller Damian Kavanagh, who ordered the series, said that it would help children to understand the real value of items. "It's a great new format and should help children develop vital life skills, such as numeracy, negotiation and teamwork," he added.
Bridget Banton and Leopard's James Burstall are the executive producers on the series.
Leopard has previously produced a range of money-themed fact ent series, including Keeping Up With The Joneses, Money Spinners and My Life For Sale for BBC1.