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TV 'Apprentice' for celeb authors

17.01.08 Anna Richardson

A new "Apprentice"-style reality TV show will turn one of six celebrities into a crime author, mentored by Minette Walters and published by Pan Macmillan.

"Murder Most Famous", which will be broadcast on BBC2 during the week of World Book Day (6th March), is the brainchild of "Strictly Come Dancing" and "Dragons' Den" mastermind Richard Hopkins, m.d. of Fever Media. Hopkins hopes the programme will do for writing what "Strictly Come Dancing" did for ballroom dancing—making the subject accessible and an "entertaining prospect" as a TV format.

The series will be broadcast in five daily 45-minute episodes, and pits six celebrities—dancer Brendan Cole, actresses Sherrie Hewson and Angela Griffin, former tabloid editor Kelvin MacKenzie, presenter Matt Allwright and gardener Diarmuid Gavin—against each other.

They will be mentored by Walters, who will set a series of challenges to inspire the celebrities' daily writing tasks. Training will include dog tracking, resisting a violent attack, an autopsy, crime scene investigation, interrogation techniques and rapid pursuit of a suspect. Walters will judge the celebrities' writing efforts and eliminate one candidate each day.

The winner will turn their plot and central characters into a novel, to be published with Pan as a Quick Read on WBD 2009, in conjunction with the BBC's adult literacy campaign RaW. The proceeds will go towards BBC Children in Need.

Pan Macmillan publishing director Maria Rejt, who will edit the winning celebrity's book, said it would be "a really big, fat challenge". "Writing crime is really difficult, and they've got to do a really good job," she added.

The series is being produced by Hopkins' Fever Media, a production company backed by Sony BMG. A website will show examples of the celebrity pupils' writing (as well as Walters' critiques), video diaries and extra footage.

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Comments on this article

By Alex

It's a good idea, but there are enough struggling authors out there as it is, without helping 'celebrities' - who would probably find it easier to get published than most - get published. Perhaps if this is successful, a similar television program could be set up for members of the public to do much the same thing?

17 Jan 08 10:33

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By Louise Wilson

Bonkers idea. As for (Macmillan publishing director) Maria Rejt's quote: well, duh! Yes, crime writing is "really difficult." You can't turn someone into a writer with a week of gimmicky challenges (of course, simply filming the contestants writing - and reading - for months or years on end wouldn't have quite the same appeal to viewers!) It's very disappointing to see Minette Walters lend her name to this farce, although I daresay it'll boost sales of her books (published by Macmillan). Rather than popularising reading, which is desperately needed, all this will do is cheapen the industry still further and reinforce a commonly-held opinion that to get published it's all about who you are rather than how well you write. Most depressing of all, the finished product will have almost certainly been heavily tidied up, if not written outright, by a ghost writer. I look forward to future celebrity challenges: how to become a concert pianist, airline pilot, brain surgeon, etc.

17 Jan 08 10:38

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By Graeme K Talboys

Yet another 'tacky' so-called reality show that will do nothing to promote reading or improve the lives of real writers who struggle year in and year out to produce good books, only to find half-wit 'celebs' getting the kind of help, publicity (and probably big salaries) that writers can only dream of. Shame on Macmillan. Shame on Minette Walters. Shame on everyone involved with this piece of garbage.

18 Jan 08 22:07

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By pats

What a miserable envious lot of sods you are! Could the grapes be more sour?

08 Mar 08 23:12

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By M Coburn

Most of the comments posted seem to have missed the point that the show was for the charity RAW (Reading and Writing). So what’s the problem with spotlighting this by using TV celebrities and a well-known author to front it? Sherrie Hewson, the winner, will turn her plot and central characters into a novel, to be published with Pan as a Quick Read on WBD 2009, in conjunction with the BBC's adult literacy campaign RaW. The proceeds will go towards BBC Children in Need. Come on, lighten up.

10 Mar 08 15:12

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By Graham Minty

Depressing

02 Apr 08 21:16

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By Phil

Depending on your point of view I was lucky/unlucky (delete as applicable) enough to catch the series. And I found it gripping! Although I disagreed with the result - Matt Allwright was clearly the most talented writer there, showing George Pelecanos and Christopher Brookmyre finesse. But in Shirrie Hewson, Minette and Pan Mac have found a (somewhat) willing contributor in "misery-fiction". Providing the Beeb show repeats nearer the time, AND at a much more widely-watched evening-time slot, I'm sure it'll be the best-selling Quick Read the world has ever seen! If you want to attack a book-based TV series, I'd suggest going for BBC Four's Book Quiz - too high brow, meaning low viewer interaction. Murder Most Famous was a fascinating, addictive and original slice in an otherwise saturated reality show market. If it had been aired in the evening over a number of weeks, I'm sure Pan Mac would've been pressured into releasing Hewson's novella a lot sooner.

03 Apr 08 13:45

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