The Bible: will it be a ratings miracle for Channel 5? Photograph: Joe Alblas/AP
It is better known for Celebrity Big Brother and documentaries featuring very long trucks, but Channel 5 will also be home this autumn to a sweeping 10-hour epic, The Bible.
Richard Desmond’s channel announced on Monday it had bought the rights to the show made by Mark Burnett, previously better known for shows such as reality hit Survivor and The Voice.
A big-budget glossy epic, The Bible was a surprise ratings hit in the US this Easter with more than 13 million viewers on The History Channel, one of its biggest-ever shows.
Producers claimed during the making of the show that it had been struck by mysterious omens which indicated the “hand of God”, including a sudden swarm of snakes.
It remains to be seen whether it works any ratings miracles for Channel 5.
The Bible, which stars Diogo Morgado as Jesus, devotes five hours to the Old Testament, and five hours to the new, with a mix of live action and computer generated imagery. It is billed as a production that “tries to stay true to the spirit of the book”.
