It will amount to a working vacation for the competitors who must have well-developed driving skills, and a love of trucking.

“There are plenty of people who drive for a living, or to pay the bills. But it’s really the next level up that we’re looking for,” says Dominique Foster, who is helping to cast the show. “We want drivers who have the experience but also a real passion for the job, and who can talk about it with enthusiasm.”

Foster says London-based Dragonfly Film and Television Productions Ltd. is trying to ensure the competitors are not out of pocket.

“These are people who would normally be out working, so it’s possible we’re going to cover wages in some way. And obviously we’ll set up flights and accommodation as they travel round the world taking part in the challenges,” she says. “It’s quite a good offer, really, isn’t it?”

On top of all that, of course, there’s the bragging rights that go to the winner: the accolade of ‘world’s toughest trucker’

“It’s got all the ingredients that go into good television, and visually it’s going to be exciting, and quite a journey for all these truck drivers to go on,” she says. “There are so many different elements to it, so I think it’s going to be quite good.”

Foster, a freelance television director at Dragonfly, is trying to find interesting drivers from Canada and the United States to take part in the project.

“Owner-drivers are a group we’re especially keen on attracting. They tend to be very passionate about their work,” she says. “And of course we need people who want to win. It is, after all, a competition. They’ll be in situations where they’re pitted against one another, on different routes, different types of cargo, different trucks. These will not be simple small challenges; they’re quite large-scale competitions with a lot of set-up required.”

She says logistics teams are already at work developing driving challenges in exotic locations around the world for the eight-hour television series. A call for participants describes the competition as “a once-in-a-lifetime challenge” involving “mastering tricky loads, and taking on challenging roads around the globe.”

The production company is keeping quiet about where the challenges will be held. For one thing, a lot of details have yet to be ironed out, but for another, they’d like to unveil the challenges as show-stopping surprises.

Interested drivers should send an email to truckers@dragonfly.tv to receive more information about the program as well as a copy of the application form to participate. They can also call Dragonfly Productions directly at 011-44-207-033-2273.

“Ideally they would have a clean driving record,” says Foster. “Risk assessment is going to be a massive part of the planning of this program. That’s something the logistics team is working out in addition to the challenges and routes. They’re looking very closely at health and safety; we have to be super, super careful.”

Drivers must also be over 21 years of age, proficient in English, and available for filming between June and August 2011.

Dragonfly Productions has developed a number of television programs in the documentary and reality genre, including a big hit in the U.K., “One Born Every Minute,” a Big Brother-style show set in a maternity ward.