Sky Arts orders IWC double

The stand-up comedian will front Boswell & Johnson’s Scottish Road Trip With Frank Skinner & Denise Mina, a 3 x 60 minutes series that will recreate a famous tour across Scotland.

Skinner, a lifelong Johnson obsessive, will travel with novelist Mina will follow the famous Grand Tour route that English writer Samuel Johnson took with his Scottish friend James Boswell, using carriages, boats and horses.

Mina has fronted BBC4 docs on Edgar Allen Poe and Lady Millicent’s WWI field hospital, while Skinner was previously co-host of Sky Arts’ Landscape Artist and Portrait Artist of the Year competitions and also penned an episode of anthology series Urban Myths.

“When Frank came to us with an idea to recreate the footsteps of Boswell and Johnson, I didn’t hesitate to say yes,” said Sky Arts director Phil Edgar-Jones.

“Exploring Scotland’s cultural heritage is something I have long been obsessed by, and with the tremendous skills of IWC added to the mix this is a beautiful start.”

Tate Modern single

IWC is also making Van Gogh: An Exclusive View – From Tate Britain, a one-off, 60-minute special for Sky Arts in conjunction with the Tate, building on last year’s collaboration between the trio on last year’s Picasso Live From Tate Modern.

Curator and broadcaster Kate Bryan will offer an access-all-areas look at the Tate’s upcoming Van Gogh exhibition, which showcases the Dutch artist’s time in Britain.

Edgar-Jones said called the new commissions “a glorious double eye- and earful for the Sky Arts fan”.

Barbara Lee was commissioning editor for Boswell & Johnson, while Benedetta Pinelli ordered Van Gogh: An Exclusive View.

IWC’s Franny Moyle will executive produce both shows, with Banijay Rights selling them internationally.

“These commissions are testimony to Sky Arts’ dedication to thoughtful, granular, entertaining and original approaches to cultural topics and we’re just so pleased to be part of the channel’s journey,” said Moyle.