Design Icon Debbie Travis Comes to OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada) in All-New Series La Dolce Debbie

Travis transforms a Tuscany farmhouse into a luxurious 14-bedroom women's retreat

Series premieres Tuesday, February 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET

TORONTO, Jan. 20, 2016 /CNW/ - OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada) announced today that celebrated interior designer Debbie Travis will be joining the OWN (Canada) family with the new documentary series La Dolce Debbie (6X30). The series follows Debbie as she searches for, buys and completely overhauls a 13th century Tuscan property, transforming it into her ultimate dream women's retreat. La Dolce Debbie premieres Tuesday, February 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

To view a trailer of the series, please click here. To download high-res images click here

"Both Debbie Travis and OWN (Canada) are committed to entertaining and inspiring audiences, and we are thrilled to welcome her back into the Corus family," said John MacDonald, Executive Vice President, Television, Head of Women and Family, Corus Entertainment. "Debbie personifies excellence in everything she does, and we are delighted to have La Dolce Debbie as part of the OWN (Canada) schedule this winter."

"I'm thrilled to join OWN (Canada) to share this incredible, personal adventure. Realizing my dream of renovating an ancient property in Tuscany and creating a home for one-of-a-kind women's retreats was a challenge unlike any other, " said Debbie Travis. "I feel La Dolce Debbie will make you laugh and cry but more importantly it will inspire us all to follow our own dreams and make them happen."

La Dolce Debbie takes viewers on design icon Debbie Travis' most personal journey yet: risking her life's savings to buy and transform a 13th century medieval watchtower and farmhouse into a luxurious 14 bedroom women's retreat in Tuscany, Italy. Inspiring, touching, and heart-warming – the series explores the highs and lows of buying and renovating a large property in a foreign country.

In her area of Tuscany, which is deemed an international heritage site, Debbie is forced to conform to rigid historical protection laws and red-tape committees. Working with some of the best architects, designers and tradesmen in Italy, she struggles to grasp the language and assimilate to a new culture, and also has to wrap her head around what it takes to run a 100-acre farm with 800 olive trees and vineyard. While the property slowly transforms, so does Debbie. At the heart of the series is her personal journey to find a new happiness through her desire to create a one-of-a-kind retreat that captures the transformative spirit of Tuscany and the experience of La Dolce Vita – The Sweet Life.  

In the first episode, which premieres Tuesday, February 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET, Debbie is on the hunt for an Italian property to transform into the permanent home for her women's retreats. For more than two years she and her husband Hans scour the country – and when they finally fall in love with the idyllic region of Tuscany, they struggle to find the perfect place.

La Dolce Debbie is produced by Montréal-based WAM (Whalley-Abbey Media). For more information about the series, please click here.

About OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada)
On March 1, 2011, OWN launched in over six million Canadian homes on what was previously the VIVA channel. OWN is available in Canada through a license agreement with OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

About Corus Entertainment Inc.
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian-based integrated media and content company that creates, broadcasts, licenses and delivers content across a variety of platforms for audiences around the world. The company's portfolio of multimedia offerings encompasses specialty television and radio with additional assets in pay television, television broadcasting, children's book publishing, children's animation, animation software, and technology and media services. Corus' television brands include ABC Spark, Cartoon Network (Canada), CMT (Canada), Cosmopolitan TV, Disney Channel (Canada), Disney Junior, Disney XD, Nickelodeon (Canada), OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada), Telelatino, TELETOON, Treehouse, W Network, YTV, Historia, La chaîne Disney, Séries+ and TÉLÉTOON. Its 39 radio brands include CKNW AM 980, Rock 101, Country 105, 630 CHED, Fresh Radio, JUMP! 106.9, Q107 and 102.1 the Edge. The company also owns Nelvana, an internationally renowned animation production company, Kids Can Press, Toon Boom and Quay Media Services. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (CJR.B). Experience Corus on the web at www.corusent.com.

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Danielle Sefton, Corus Entertainment, 416.479.6094, [email protected]