BBC Worldwide Inks Deal With ETV Bangla for Local Version of 'Dancing With The Stars'

LONDON – BBC Worldwide has inked a deal with ETV Bangla, a family entertainment channel in West Bengal, to produce the first regional version of Dancing With The Stars (Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa).

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Produced by BBC Worldwide Productions India, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Bangla will air on the channel in March.

Already an established and popular format in India, the deal will see the first regional version to be produced.

BBC Worldwide Productions India general manager and creative head Myleeta Aga said: "Dancing With The Stars is an established global hit, and no more so than here in India. Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa has paved the way for other dance based reality series, and by introducing a region specific version to audiences in West Bengal, we are once again setting the standard of how such series can continue to be relevant and fresh."

Aga said the new show promises to take the format to "an all new level of entertainment from its previous renditions and this season will be extensively re-modeled from the international version to appeal to Bengali viewers."

ETV Bangla programming chief Ritika Roy said: "ETV Bangla is proud to present Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Bangla which will showcase known and much loved faces from different walks of lives, who will be stepping out of their comfort zones and will be exploring the beautiful world of dance."

The Hindi language, award-winning version of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa produced by BBC Worldwide Productions India for Colors, has completed its fifth season corralling an audience of over 100 million across the series.