The BBC art competition was first announced in 2023 as part of BBC Northern Ireland’s Hot House development scheme

Steph McGovern will front Stellify Media’s long-gestating art collector competition series The Big Deal for the BBC.  

The 6 x 60-minute series, which was a co-commission between BBC Arts and BBC NI, will see seven pairs of contestants battle it out in the competitive world of contemporary art dealing for the chance to win a lucrative prize.

Each week, the amateur dealers will face challenges that test their skills, from spotting breakthrough artists to building relationships with established ones, wooing potential buyers and securing sales.   

Their efforts will be judged by Cordelia De Freitas and a panel of experts, who will together decide which pairs progress and which must leave the competition.

Judges include curator Matt Carey-Williams, artist Margo McDaid and Ani Petrov, marketing vice president for digital art marketplace Artsy. The winners will walk away with £50,000 worth of art.  

The Big Deal with Steph McGovern was first announced in November 2023 as part of BBC Northern Ireland’s inaugural Hot House development scheme, under the title The Art Game. 

The series is produced by Belfast-based Stellify Media for BBC2 and BBCNI, with support from Northern Ireland Screen. It was commissioned by Suzy Klein, head of BBC Arts and classical Music TV, and Eddie Doyle, senior head of content commissioning for BBCNI.

Amanda Goodman and Mary McKeagney are commissioning editors, while Jo Bishop and Tracie O’Neill exec produce for Stellify. 

Klein said the show offered “a fresh insight into how art is discovered, bought and sold”, adding that it was “a brilliant example of how BBC Arts can demystify the creative industries and inspire the next generation of art-lovers and collectors, while having fun along the way.”  

Doyle added: “The Big Deal with Steph McGovern is exactly the kind of creative collaboration the Hot House initiative was designed for, showcasing local independent production company Stellify Media, while opening up the fascinating inner workings of the art market to audiences everywhere.”

The series will air later this year.