Drama production company, Clapperboard Studios, has appointed two new in-house senior executive producers, Rachel Gesua (The Catch, The Holiday) and Suzi McIntosh (Silent Witness, Peaky Blinders).
The pair first worked with Clapperboard as co-executive producers of The Holiday on behalf of Projector Pictures. They join a team headed up by Executive Producer and Managing Director Mike Benson, with Michael Klokkos as Head of Production, Andy Morgan as Executive Producer and Jonathan Hall as Head of Development.
Rachel Gesua joins Clapperboard from Projector Pictures, where she worked on shows such as Alice Through the Looking Glass and Cinderella, before producing Twelfth Night for Channel 4. She then went on to produce The Body Farm for the BBC and exec produce two series of Kidnap and Ransom for ITV. Last year she exec produced both The Holiday (Channel 5, Netflix) and The Catch (Channel 5).
Rachel Gesua comments: “I am thrilled to be joining Clapperboard at this exciting stage. Having worked with Mike on The Holiday, I know what a passionate and brilliant producer he is and I have huge admiration for what he has built at Clapperboard. The opportunity to join such a dynamic and impressive company was too good to turn down. I can’t wait to dive in and work on the slate of diverse and interesting projects with Mike and the team.”
Suzi McIntosh is currently Executive Producer for the BBC on Silent Witness, and also co-exec produced The Catch for Channel 5, alongside Rachel, in her role at Projector Pictures. Previously, McIntosh was Head of Development, Comedy and Drama at Kindle, where she developed a slate including a musical with lyrics written by Tim Rice and book by Simon Nye and worked as Script Executive on Peaky Blinders VI.
Suzi McIntosh comments: “I could not be more excited to grab this opportunity to work with Mike again with both hands. Clapperboard as a company provides a refreshing and energetic opportunity to create original new dramas with the best talent in the industry. I am very much looking forward to collaborating with Mike and growing his current slate. Bring it on!”
Clapperboard is currently in production with The Serial Killer’s Wife and The Castaways for Paramount + (both co-productions with Blackbox Multimedia), along with The Good Ship Murder for Channel 5 and a third series of the hit comedy drama The Madame Blanc Mysteries for Channel 5 and Acorn TV. Created and co-written by Sally Lindsay, Madame Blanc is a co-production with Saffron Cherry Productions.
Executive Producer and Managing Director at Clapperboard, Mike Benson, says: “Having been in the trenches with Rachel and Suzi on The Holiday at the height of Covid I recognised and valued what talented and collaborative producers they were. Their experience producing at different budget levels as well as an ability to develop and package fantastic scripted concepts also really chimed with our ambitions. We’re excited to continue the Clapperboard adventure with them at the heart of our team.”
Jon Creamer
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