BBC SHOW, "BANISHED," PREMIERES IN THE U.S. EXCLUSIVELY ON iTUNES TODAY

New York - January 19, 2015 - BBC Worldwide North America have announced that Banished, the first ever BBC show to make its U.S. premiere on iTunes, is available today. Banished (7x60), penned by Emmy(R)-winning writer Jimmy McGovern (Cracker, The Street) and set in 18th century Australia, tells the story of the first British convicts as they start a new life in a penal colony where the stakes are literally life and death. The premiere episode is available for free on iTunes for two weeks from launch.

"We know that BBC shows are incredibly popular with iTunes consumers. Fan favorites including Doctor Who, Sherlock, Orphan Black and Top Gear consistently appear on the top of the iTunes charts," said Soumya Sriraman, EVP Franchise and Digital Enterprises, BBC Worldwide North America. "Premiering Banished in the U.S on iTunes adds to the excellent line-up for fans of great British television."

Starring Russell Tovey (The Night Manager, Being Human), Orla Brady (Into The Badlands, Wallander), Julian Rhind-Tutt (The Hour), Myanna Buring (Ripper Street), and David Wenham (Top Of The Lake), Banished follows the lives, loves, relationships and battle for survival of a group of convicts, the soldiers who guard them and the men who govern them in the early days of this settlement.

The drama opens at dawn as the convicts and their masters are waking up to another sweltering hot day in a place where anything can happen and death stalks everyone. With supplies running out and the group ill-equipped for life on this inhospitable shoreline, who will survive the next 10 days?

International award-winning independent production companies RSJ Films (Accused, The Street) and See-Saw Films (Top Of The Lake, The King's Speech, Shame) joined forces for the first time to co-produce the drama. The series was co-commissioned by BBC Two and BBC Worldwide Australia and New Zealand.

Banished is written and devised by Jimmy McGovern - Shaun Duggan (Accused) wrote episode five.

To watch Banished Episode 1 visit iTunes.com/Banished.

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Note:

Banished is on special offer for the first two weeks with Episode 1 premiering for free, single episodes (Ep 2-7) at $1.99 SD, $2.99 HD and a season pass at $10.99 SD, $14.99 HD.

About BBC Worldwide North America

BBC Worldwide North America is the main commercial arm and wholly-owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) operating in the U.S. and Canada. The company exists to maximize the value of the BBC's assets for the benefit of the UK license payer and invests in public service programing in return for rights. The company operates four businesses in the territory - linear and digital content sales and co-productions, consumer products, BBC.com, and two production divisions - BBC Worldwide Productions, responsible for the smash hit Dancing with the Stars and the U.S. version of Top Gear; and Adjacent Productions, producers of DaVinci's Demons, Life Below Zero, and Ladies of London, among others. The company also owns a 50.1% share in cable channel BBC AMERICA through a joint venture with AMC Networks.