Channel 4, 27 May 2022

Crackit Productions has been commissioned by Channel 4 to produce a new series, Key to a Fortune – a transformational series, hosted by TV presenter Jean Johansson, that reunites families with homes – and relatives they didn’t know they had, it was announced today.

Each year in the UK, millions of pounds worth of vacant homes sit unclaimed. These hidden treasures belong to ordinary people, unknowing inheritors to treasured estates that were once owned by a distant relative who left no will.

In this 6×60 series we discover that often there are a number of benefactors for every property – extended family members who have never even heard of each other before. Jean is on a mission to find these inheritors, reunite them and help them decide what to do with their windfall. Families will be brought together to discover their secret family history through their shared new home.

Jean will be joined each episode by a returning team of co-presenting property experts, including: Property Investor and Mortgage Broker, Tayo Oguntonade; Designer and Property Expert, Kunle Barker; Carpenter and Construction Expert, Raphael Meade, and Property Developer, Stuart Douglas. The team are on hand to show each family incredible ideas for how to unlock the potential in their house. But whether they decide to share it, sell it as it is or find a way of adding value, it’s a decision the families must all make together.

Elaine Hackett, CEO at Crackit, said: “Who wouldn’t want that surprise call to say you’ve just been left a property worth hundreds of thousands of pounds?  Then once the windfall settles to find out you must share it with family you didn’t know you had! This format takes big life-changing gameshow beats and sets them on an authentic stage. I’m hopeful that I might just get a call”.

Kate Thomas, Commissioning Editor, Daytime and Features, Channel 4, said: “In Key to a Fortune we are going to make dreams come true as we surprise members of the public with unexpected windfalls, whilst also taking them on an emotional journey to meet relatives they never knew they had. I am thrilled to commission this distinctive new format, which I am confident will be a big hit with our viewers.”

The series is a Crackit South Production for Channel 4 and was commissioned by Kate Thomas, Commissioning Editor, Daytime and Features, and the executive producers are Elaine Hackett and Rebecca Bayatti with Charlotte Taylor as series producer.

https://www.channel4.com/press/news/crackit-hands-key-fortune-channel-4