BB FANS

waveguide

A new reality show has been commissioned by Five to be shown during the channel's children's schedule.

The series will follow 22 eight to 12-year-olds as they progress through a series of regional trials to enter a football academy to receive training from John Gregory and Harry Redknapp.

Match Academy will run for thirteen weeks and production will begin next week.

At the end of the series, the group is divided into two teams to compete in a final.

Last week, Five's chief Dan Chambers told journalists he was banning reality shows from the channel's schedule.

But Five's controller of children's programming Nick Wilson said Match Academy is "not a reality show but a constructed documentary".

Emap's football magazine Match is launching its own TV programme, which will appear on Five in 2006.

Match Academy will be produced by Endemol, the company behind Big Brother , and will be shown over 13 parts starting next spring.

TV cameras will follow the progress of 22 youngsters aged between eight and 12 as they are selected for, and eventually attend, the Match Academy.

The two teams will be coached by two of the country's top managers – Southampton FC's Harry Redknapp and the ex-Aston Villa and Derby County coach John Gregory.

The players will represent 20 Premiership teams, plus one finalist from Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The series will be shown on Five's kids' programming strand, Shake.

From MediaWeek