In October 2012, Lebanon will gets its own version of Dancing with the Stars - the international format of Strictly Come Dancing.
The dance show, which will be locally produced for Lebanon's Murr Television (MTV) as part of a two-year deal, will mark the first time that a tailored version of the format has been shown in the Arab world.
Dancing with the Stars was named in the Guinness Book of World Records 2010 as the most successful reality TV format. The BBC has licensed the show to 42 countries around the world, including America, Australia, China and India.
But the deal with Lebanon's MTV is the result of nearly two years' hard work by BBC Worldwide to bring the show to Arab viewers, said Worldwide senior sales executive Cynthia Kennedy in a blog post.
"Ever since Strictly Come Dancing took to the air on BBC One in 2004, audiences around the world have been captivated by the heady combination of celebrity, dance, glamour and competition," she said.
"The local versions are licensed to international broadcasters by BBC Worldwide's Format Licensing team. As a member of this team, one of my responsibilities is to look after our formats business in the Middle East region.
"Dancing with the Stars is a format that needs no introduction; in the Arab world, however, there are unique cultural sensitivities that made it difficult to persuade broadcasters to produce a local version with local stars."
Kennedy said that she had held "numerous discussions" with broadcast partners and production companies in the Middle East since joining Worldwide in 2010, but it has taken until now to reach the first deal.
She found that the best way forward was to find Lebanese production company Iprod, as it had the "expertise, skills and experience" required to produce a "quality show on this scale".
"I then looked for a broadcaster who was willing to invest the time and resources to make Dancing with the Stars a television event for their audience and MTV Lebanon came forward as the company to do this. MTV has negotiated a two-season commitment to Dancing with the Stars, starting this Autumn," she said.
"The Lebanese version of Dancing with the Stars will go to air nearly two years after I started the conversation. It's taken a long time, but I know it will be worth the wait. I look forward to seeing it on air on MTV and throughout the rest of the region in the coming years."
