Export of The Weakest Link brings in €24.5m for BBC

The worldwide success of The Weakest Link has helped the BBC achieve record sales.

Anne Robinson's show was the channel's most successful export last year.

It was sold to 75 countries, earning the BBC around stg£15m (€24.5m).

The show is expected to bring in another stg£50m (€81.7m)over the next five years.

The programme has been such a hit because it has more staying power than its ITV rival Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? claims BBC Worldwide chief executive Rupert Gavin.

He said: "Millionaire has usually gone off with a very strong initial rating because people are attracted by the size of the prize. But once they've seen the million being won, interest in the format diminishes."

Sales of The Weakest Link have helped boost the BBC's programme exports by 16% - up from £148m (€242m) the previous year to £172m (€281m). Japan is the latest nation to buy the format, and has signed up for 26 prime-time shows beginning in April this year.

The other most successful BBC exports last year were The Teletubbies, Top Of The Pops, Silent Witness and The Lost World, starring Bob Hoskins.

New BBC shows on offer to overseas viewers this year include Sahara, the latest travel epic from Michael Palin and MI5 drama series Spooks.