BBC to produce next season of 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'

New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) The third season of the dance reality TV show "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa" will now be produced by its original format owner BBC.

"Yes, it's true, if there is another season of 'Jhalak...', BBC will be producing it themselves as they have set up their own production office in Mumbai, and this time around they would not like to outsource it to a third party," said Siddhartha Basu, head of Synergy Adlabs that produced the previous seasons of the show.

The show, based on BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing" and loosely based on American show "Dancing With The Stars", pairs celebrities and professional dancers to compete with other pairs in various dance forms on a highly competitive stage.

According to Basu, Sony Entertainment Television, on which the show was aired, licensed the format from BBC, and also commissioned the production from them. Sony TV then in turn commissioned Synergy Adlabs to produce the show.

While TV actress Mona Singh won the first season of the show, actress Prachi Desai bagged the top honours in the second season.

The next season is expected to go on floors in summer 2009 and dance maestro Saroj Khan might be one of the judges on the show.