SOAPNET ANNOUNCES NEW ORIGINAL REALITY SERIES, "BANK OF MOM AND DAD," FROM BBC WORLDWIDE PRODUCTIONS AND ACQUIRES CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED SCRIPTED DRAMA "BEING ERICA," FROM BBC WORLDWIDE FOR A SECOND SEASON

NETWORK ALSO PICKS UP TEN EPISODES OF THE ONE HOUR SPECIAL "HOLIDATE"

Committed to growing the original program offerings and broadening SOAPnet's reach, Brian Frons, President, Daytime, Disney ABC Television Group today announced a new reality series from BBC Worldwide Productions, "Bank of Mom and Dad," and the second season pickup of the critically-acclaimed original scripted drama, "Being Erica" from BBC Worldwide Sales & Distribution. "Holidate," a reality series about women finding love in different cities has been picked up for ten episodes. The series will be produced by ABC Media Productions, the arm of the Daytime Division that develops and produces non-scripted original programming franchises for primetime, syndication and cable.

"Bank of Mom and Dad," adapted from a BBC format, is an original reality series where women in their 20s and 30s have to face their Mom and Dad moving in for one week to police their finances and take over their lives. With wayward lifestyles and spending spiraling out of control, each episode sees one woman having a major reality check as she faces up to her debt. With the help of financial expert Farnoosh Torabi, Mom and Dad take total control in an emotionally charged intervention where the parents have to approve every dollar spent. Farnoosh Torabi, best known for her work on CNBC, MSNBC and Real Simple, will help plan a road map for change and the tools to make it happen. The series, produced by BBC Worldwide Productions, has been picked up for 10 episodes and will premiere Wednesday, September 30 at 10PM.

"Being Erica," which brought over a half-a-million new viewers to SOAPnet in its first season, has been picked up for 12 additional episodes. In the first season, the series followed the life of single 32-year-old Erica Strange, who with the help of mysterious therapist Dr. Tom was able to relive a past regret each week, in order to come back and make a positive change in her present. A year since her therapy began; Erica was enjoying the outcome with a great new job and boyfriend. However, at the end of season one, Erica defies Dr. Tom's trust by tempting to change the fate of the death of her brother Leo, leaving Erica at a crossroads. In season two, we see an Erica who is worldlier, more accountable, and more experienced in the ways of time travel. If season one introduced her to time travel, season two has her questioning and exploring its dynamics. We also learn more about the mysterious Dr. Tom and his colleague Dr. Naadiah. The second season stars Erin Karpluk (Erica), Dr. Tom (Michael Riley) Tyron Leitso (Ethan) and Joanne Vannicola (Dr. Naadiah, Dr. Tom's colleague.) The one-hour series, created by Emmy-Award winning writer Jana Sinyor, is executive-produced by Sinyor, Aaron Martin, Ivan Schneeberg and David Fortier, and is produced by Temple Street Productions in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and BBC Worldwide. Season two will premiere in early 2010.

"Holidate," which was previously announced as a one-hour special, has been greenlit for a ten episode series that will premiere Wednesday July 29 at 10PM. The reality series takes two women, per episode, who are looking for love but having no luck with the suitors in their individual cities and transports them into each other's lives. The women will spend time in each other's city and date the men in each other's towns. The women will be able to communicate with each other throughout the journey in hopes of finding true love. Women from cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, Dallas and Chicago will be featured.

Content to support all of SOAPnet's programming will be available on soapnet.com including everything from select video extras, games and blogs to community forums, photos and downloadables.

These three series join SOAPnet's most recent reality series "Southern Belles: Louisville" which premiered May 21. The series, produced by Endemol USA in association with ABC Media Productions, premiered as SOAPnet's number one reality series on record in total viewers, women 18-34 and women 18-49 and was the second-most-watched premiere in the net's history, behind only the debut of "General Hospital: Night Shift."

SOAPnet owns the world of character-driven soapy drama, from daytime and primetime dramas, to reality shows and movies. The network features same-day episodes of popular daytime dramas including "All My Children," "Days of our Lives," "One Life to Live," "General Hospital," and "The Young and the Restless;" favorite primetime series "The Gilmore Girls," "The O.C.," "One Tree Hill" and "Beverly Hills 90210;" and original programs including "Being Erica," "MVP," and "General Hospital: Night Shift." Wrapped in a 24-hour environment, SOAPnet is the one destination for stories focused on real emotions and revealing truths about intriguing, yet flawed characters.

About BBC Worldwide, America

BBC Worldwide is the main commercial arm and wholly-owned subsidiary of the UK public broadcaster, BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) and maintains offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC and Rhode Island. The business brings together the seven core BBC Worldwide divisions: Channels, Content & Production, Sales & Distribution, Global Brands, Digital Media, Home Entertainment & Magazines. The highly acclaimed cable channel BBC America, now available in 64 million homes, is among the key brands in the region. BBC Worldwide Productions is responsible for the smash hit "Dancing with the Stars" on ABC and the upcoming "Great America Road Trip" for NBC. BBC Worldwide Sales & Distribution business negotiates, sells and distributes television programs to networks and secures co-production partners, in the Americas region.