Cardiff-based Boom, part of ITV Studios, has appointed Hollie Abbott as its director of development.
Meanwhile, Channel 5 has greenlit a third series of Boom’s dermatology show Skin A&E.
Abbott joined Boom as a development executive at the end of 2020, having previously held development roles at Reef TV and the wider Zinc Media Group, Firecracker, Keshet and STV Studios.
She subsequently went on to secure Boom’s BBC Three/BBC Wales co-commission, Hot Cakes. The new series, which follows the young team behind one of the UK’s most inspirational insta-bakeries, situated in the heart of Cardiff, was generated as a result of the creative partnership between BBC Three, BBC Wales and Creative Wales which launched in November 2020.
Abbott’s credits include Channel 4’s The Undateables, Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over on W, Great British Menu on BBC Two and Dave’s Special Ops: Crime Squad UK.
Nia Thomas, managing director of Boom, said: “Hollie is an exceptional development lead with a real flair for popular factual, factual entertainment and reality formats, and I am delighted that she is stepping up into this new role.”
Hollie Abbott said: “Having grown up in Cornwall and with a mixed Cornish and Welsh heritage, it’s amazing to have come back to my roots to one of the UK nations’ production powerhouses. There is a real momentum at Boom right now with multiple funded developments and I’m very excited about leading a truly talented team and building on the company’s reputation for quality programming.”
Boom Group is one of Wales’ largest production companies, responsible for over 400 hours of programming annually for BBC, S4C, ITV, Channel 5, Channel 4 and UKTV, with a slate that includes shows such as UKTV’s Big Zuu’s Big Eats, BBC’s Daytime series, Dom Delivers, S4C’s tense crime drama 35 Diwrnod, produced and adapted into 15 Days for Channel 5, and More 4’s Historic House Rescue.
As well as the Boom label, Boom Group also houses production divisions Boom Cymru, Boom Kids and Boom Social, as well as leading Welsh post-production facility Gorilla and Visual Effects and Motion Graphics company, Bait Studio.
ITV Studios handles global distribution for Skin A&E.
Jon Creamer
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