'Weakest Link' proves strong seller abroad

Shows such as The Weakest Link and Bob the Builder have helped to boost British television exports to the United States by a fifth.

Fairly static in the past, they went up by 19.2 per cent in 2001, according to statistics released by the British Television Distributors Association.

International exports in the TV industry as a whole were worth £427m last year, up 1.2 per cent on the year before. Sales to America accounted for nearly a third of that and were worth £136m, according to the figures compiled with the Department of Culture.

Among the biggest-selling shows of last year were Anne Robinson's The Weakest Link, which has been sold to 76 countries, and the Brit Awards, which has gone to more than 70. A TV version of Oliver Twist has gone to 48 countries.

Format sales – where broadcasters buy the concept forquizzes such as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and The Weakest Link, but use contestants, questions and often presenters from their own countries – have gone up by 51.4 per cent in the past year.

Kim Howells, Broadcasting minister, said: "The Government recognises the importance of TV exports to the British economy ... The BTDA should be applauded for its continuing efforts to increase export sales in the face of an economic global downturn."