Debbie Travis will have a new primetime show on CBC beginning in the fall. (CBC)Debbie Travis will have a new primetime show on CBC beginning in the fall. (CBC)

Debbie Travis, the television personality known for her design ideas, is turning her attention to building community in a new show coming to CBC Television.

On Wednesday, Travis and CBC announced a primetime show to debut in the fall that will celebrate local heroes.

The Debbie Travis Show will be produced by Travis's Whalley-Abbey Media, in association with CBC and GroupM Entertainment.

Travis has put out a call for nominations of Canadians who are active in their community and know how to make a difference. The best of these will be profiled on her new show.

Travis told CBC News she's looking for unsung heroes — the firefighter who also runs the daycare, the volunteer who's run the Salvation Army kitchen for 20 years, the woman who is willing to look after your children if you are late home from work.

"And I think every community's got one," she said. "We want the whole country nominating your mother, your grandma, your brother, your sister, your uncle, your best friend, your neighbour, even yourself."

Travis said she hopes the program will bring a message of hope.

"This is a country of communities great communities," she said. "I was brought up in a little community in England and I'm a great believer in everybody giving back, the community being part of our everyday lives.

"If you think, what is community, it could be a hockey community, it could be a tiny island off the coast of Nova Scotia, it could be the Portuguese community downtown or an urban community," she said.

Nominations can be made until June 15 at a Debbie Travis Show website.

British-born Travis was a TV producer in the U.K. before moving to Montreal and starting a painting and design firm.

Her painting and decorating show Debbie Travis Painted House has been seen in 80 countries and she has won four Gemini Awards.

Travis also hosted Debbie Travis Facelift and From the Ground Up with Debbie Travis and has written books about home decorating and a syndicated newspaper column. Her most recent book, Not Guilty, talks about the experience of parenting.