October 5 - The characters and controversy of the 1936 Olympics will provide the backdrop to a new programme, produced as part of a major drama partnership between TalkbackThames and Berlin-based UFA, it was announced today.


The Olympics will be a two-part 90-minute drama that will go into production next year, in time for broadcast around the 2012 London Olympics.

Key figures such as Jesse Owens, the black American sprinter who won a record four Olympic gold medals, and German film-maker Leni Riefenstahl will feature prominently in the drama about the Games which became a showpiece for Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.

A writer, director and broadcaster have yet to be secured.

It is one of the first projects to emerge from a new drama development unit, backed by FremantleMedia and based in Berlin, that will see TalkbackThames and UFS collaborate on co-productions for the UK and German markets.
 

Jorg Winger, the executive producer at UFA Fernsehproduktion, is excited about the new programme on Berlin 1936.

He said: "It will prove very interesting for German audiences because the story of Leni Riefenstahl has not been touched in a TV series until now.
 

"She was an incredible film-maker who won all the major prizes in the US, UK and Europe for her films about the 1936 Olympics.

"But she also made movies about the Nazi Party and became too close to the organisation.

"This is a controversial figure, which is why we think the international audience will show great interest."
 

Lorraine Heggessey, the chief executive of TalkbackThames, said: "The relationship was sparked after we worked together on The Bill and SOKO Leipzig."
 

This saw both companies work together to develop a special two-part storyline which featured in both shows – successful primetime police dramas and Britain and Germany respectively.

Filming took place in London and Leipzig, using characters from both programmes and was broadcast on ITV1 and ZDF in Germany.
 

Heggessey said: "After that, we started to think about what more we could do and developed The Hub, a sort of Europol idea.
 

"We put together a business case and Fremantle decided to back it as a unit, which will be based in a disused chocolate factory in Berlin.

"We will have two development producers working over there."