Negotiations are in the final stages between RT╔, Louis Walsh and the independent company ShinAwil Productions for an Irish version of Popstars. A major international record company is also behind the programme, which will document the search for, and creation of, a new pop act.
The format, which originated in Australia, was a highly successful series for ITV earlier this year and resulted in the formation of the chart-topping band Hear'Say. Gerry Ryan and Louis Walsh are expected to be on the panel of judges for the auditions, which are due to take place around the country in September and October. The series is set to air in the run-up to Christmas.
Meanwhile, ITV is hoping to recreate the success of Popstars with two new shows this autumn. Pop Idol will track the search for a solo popstar, while Soapstars hunts for a new family to star in the TV soap, Emmerdale.
A new series is set to take a behind-the-scenes look at what's generally considered to be a fairly gloomy occupation - that of the pathologist.
Probable Cause (the working title) will concentrate on some of the solved and unsolved cases of Northern Ireland's pathologist, Prof Jack Crane. Using dramatic reconstructions, news footage, police videos of crime scenes and actual murder weapons, Prof Crane and his team will show how pathology and forensic science are used to solve crime. The six-part series is the first co-production between RT╔ and the British Channel 5. It's a relationship RT╔ is keen to develop, as Channel 5 is not widely available in this country. The series is currently in production with Belfast-based production company Stirling Film and Television. It is due for broadcast in the new year.
Kevin Rafter has been appointed as a presenter of RT╔'s radio programme This Week. He joins Gerald Barry and Roisin Duffy on the news and current affairs show, which airs at Sunday lunchtime. Rafter was the most recent editor of current affairs magazine Magill. He was the third editor in less than two years for the magazine. He is a former political correspondent of the Sunday Times and political reporter with The Irish Times. ITV1 is to launch its first weekly satirical show since Spitting Image, with a new animated series from the makers of Have I Got News for You.
2DTV will feature animated topical takes on politicians, celebrities and royals. Tony Blair, Prince William and Geri Halliwell are among the personalities to be lampooned, with Victoria and David Beckham coming in for particular ridicule. The show is one of the highlights of ITV's autumn schedule, which was unveiled earlier this week.
In another comic offering, Steve Coogan will front The Sketch Show, which will also feature talent from the British comedy circuit. Headlining ITV's drama line-up is a contemporary adaptation of Othello, which portrays Shakespeare's character as the head of the metropolitan police. There's a new drama from Queer as Folk creator Russel T. Davies entitled Bob and Rose - the story of a gay man's relationship with a woman. A new soap, Night and Day, will have two editions - one for daytime viewing, the other for night. The later version will have stronger language and more explicit scenes.
Boyzone's Keith Duffy - who boosted his profile by appearing on Celebrity Big Brother - has landed his own show. He is to host a reality show, The Race, in which eight contestants attempt to circumnavigate the globe, on the digital channel ITV2.
The network has put on hold the latest series from Michael Barrymore while the entertainer remains under investigation over the death of a man at his home. The series, Kids Say The Funniest Things, was completed before Barrymore's arrest in June, on suspicion of possession and supply of drugs, after a man was found dead in his swimming pool. Barrymore has not been charged with any offence, but ITV said it would not be appropriate to broadcast the series while the police investigation is underway.
the BBC will have to wait just a little bit longer for a British government decision on its proposals to launch four new digital TV channels.
The corporation has been waiting since January for a ruling on its proposals. The culture secretary, Tessa Jowells, was due to give the decision in a speech at this weekend's Edinburgh Television Festival, but she withdrew from the festival after a family bereavement. BBC programme-makers were ready to begin preparations for the new services as early as next week. This is just the latest in a series of setbacks for the BBC, after strong opposition from Britain's commercial broadcasters delayed the government's decision in advance of June's general election. It now seems likely the announcement will be made at next month's Royal Television Society convention in Cambridge.
mkearney@irish-times.com