2 x 60’ to support Sky’s commitment to protecting the rainforest

through Sky Rainforest Rescue

As part of Sky’s commitment to protecting the rainforest, through Sky Rainforest Rescue, Sky 1 HD today announces a new two part documentary following former cricketer and TV personality Freddie Flintoff as he embarks on the cycling challenge of a lifetime. Together with author, journalist and cyclist Rob Penn, FLINTOFF’S ROAD THROUGH THE RAINFOREST (W/T) sees the pair take on an epic journey into the dark heart of the Amazon along a section of the world’s most controversial mega-road: Brazil’s Trans-Amazonian Highway.

Along the way, they encounter an extraordinary range of people, places and situations with a focus on raising awareness of the heightened threat of deforestation. The result will be a dangerous, dramatic, entertaining, hair-raising, and thought-provoking voyage of discovery through one of the world’s most enigmatic regions, during a time of unprecedented change.

Travelling along a major section of the Trans-Amazonian Highway, Freddie and Rob cross pristine rainforest and indigenous territories as well as burgeoning towns and sprawling ranches - crossing wildly different social, physical and economic landscapes, deep into the heart of the diverse cultures and communities that personify them - and coming face to face with the full range of issues facing this region. However, this is no tourist route: it is a genuinely dangerous journey too. Only partially paved, huge sections of the road turn into quagmire after rain, and then to a dirt track with the world’s deepest potholes once dry.

FLINTOFF’S ROAD THROUGH THE RAINFOREST (W/T, 2 x 60’) has been commissioned from Indus and will air in early 2014 on Sky 1 HD.

Celia Taylor, Sky 1’s Head of Factual comments, “We’re delighted that Freddie has taken on another awe inspiring challenge for Sky 1 – this is no holiday however, the road is paved with potential danger and destruction at every turn. Having Freddie and Rob on board is a major boost to our Sky Rainforest Rescue campaign. Freddie is hugely popular with our customers and we have no doubt they’ll tune in to see his next big adventure.”

Freddie Flintoff says, “My daughter’s passion for saving the rainforest combined with a hard-core physical test was too good an offer to turn down. Cycling the Amazon Rainforest was a tough challenge but I hope what Rob and I have done can make a small difference and help raise awareness of the need to protect this amazing place.”

Rob Penn comments, “Sky’s commitment to saving the rainforest is to be admired and I’m thrilled to be a part of FLINTOFF’S ROAD THROUGH THE RAINFOREST.  As a relative newcomer to the world of cycling, Freddie more than showed his mettle in the tough conditions of the Amazon and it really was the journey of a lifetime.”

Steve Robinson, Executive Producer at Indus says, “This is a real adventure to a fascinating place that also tells an important story. Parts of the of the Amazon are like the Wild West of old, with settlers fighting to create new lives in frontier towns, gold miners digging up the jungle and cowboys ranching cattle where there was once forest. We all know that what happens in the Amazon affects the rest of the world, but what makes this series different is its sense of fun. Freddie and Rob have such a laugh riding along this extraordinary road, and meet such great people, that I hope it will help bring these issues to a whole new audience.”

FLINTOFF’S ROAD THROUGH THE RAINFOREST is co-executive produced by Steve Robinson and Lucy Carter for Indus and Chris Wilson, Commissioning Editor, Factual for Sky 1 HD. The series producer/director is Ewen Thomson.

FLINTOFF’S ROAD THROUGH THE RAINFOREST forms part of Sky’s commitment to help protect a billion trees in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest through Sky Rainforest Rescue. In partnership with WWF, the campaign aims to preserve around three million hectares from deforestation by making the rainforest worth more alive than dead to the local community. It is providing support for local people to adopt sustainable practices on their land, identify new market opportunities for sustainable forest products and to get a fair price for their goods. Through Sky Rainforest Rescue Sky are using its programmes, channels and reach to inspire its customers and people to take action on rainforest preservation. This is because they understand the crucial role of rainforests in helping to limit the effects of climate change, one of the gravest challenges facing the world.

Notes to editor

Megan Macleod                                                                  

Senior Publicist                   

megan.macleod@bskyb.com

020 7032 4252

Lesley Land

Senior Publicist

lesley.land@bskyb.com

T: 020 7032 0676

www.skypressoffice.co.uk

Follow us on twitter @sky1insider

Photography available from www.image.net or StillsDepartment@bskyb.com

 

About Sky

Sky is the UK and Ireland’s leading home entertainment and communications company. Around 40% of all homes have a direct relationship with Sky through its range of TV, broadband and home telephony services.

Sky is the UK’s biggest investor in television content, investing more than £2.3 billion a year in channels such as Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts, Sky Sports, Sky Movies and Sky News.   Around two-thirds of Sky’s content spend is invested in the UK and Sky is the fastest-growing source of investment in original British programmes. More than 30 million people watch Sky content each week.

Alongside its commitment to offering customers a greater choice of high-quality content, Sky is a leading innovator. Customers enjoy total control and flexibility over their favourite TV through Sky+, watch TV on the move through Sky Go, and enjoy the best quality TV experience at home through High Definition and 3D.

Sky distributes its content broadly over several platforms, including satellite, cable, IPTV, mobile and WiFi.  NOW TV, Sky’s second consumer brand, builds on the company’s leadership in internet TV. Sky is also the UK's fastest-growing home communications company and favourite ‘triple-play’ provider of TV, broadband and home phone.

Sky believes in making a wider contribution to the communities in which it operates by taking positive action on the environment, supporting grassroots sport, opening up the arts to more people and raising the aspiration of young people in schools. Sky employs 23,500 people, has annual revenues of £6.8 billion and is estimated to support a £5.4 billion contribution to UK GDP. Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange

By 2014, Sky will invest £600 million a year in British programmes across its portfolio of channels.  This commitment includes home-grown content such as upcoming entertainment quiz DUCK QUACKS DON’T ECHO, dramas such as MOONFLEET, THE TUNNEL, DRACULA, A YOUNG DOCTOR’S NOTEBOOK, FLEMING and THE SMOKE, comedies such as STELLA, DOLL & EM,THE KUMARS and factual shows such as KARL PILKINGTON: THE MOANING OF LIFE, THE SOUTH BANK SHOW, THE FACE and ROSS KEMP EXTREME WORLD.

About Sky Rainforest Rescue

SRR is a partnership between Sky and WWF that began in October 2009 to help save one billion trees in the Amazon rainforest and has been extended until 2015. Today, every minute, an area larger than three football pitches of Amazon forest is lost. The goal of SRR is to help protect one billion trees in the state of Acre, north-west Brazil by working with the local government and communities to create a future for the Amazon rainforest by making the forest worth more alive than dead. The hope is that SRR will become a model for tackling deforestation in other areas of the Amazon, as well as other rainforests around the world.

Each year, Sky’s entertainment platform airs two week-long strands of environment-themed programming (original and acquired) in order to focus attention on the crucial role of rainforests in helping to limit the effects of climate change, one of the gravest challenges facing the world. Previous examples of original commissions include Lily Cole’s Amazon Adventure and The People’s Rainforest. Flintoff’s Road Through The Rainforest (W/T)is Sky’s latest original programme commissioned to raise awareness of SRR and inspire Sky customers and staff to take action on rainforest preservation.