Sky Studios has taken a minority stake in scripted production company The Lighthouse, founded by Hilary Salmon, Radford Neville and Nick Betts.
Launched in autumn last year, The Lighthouse has a number of dramas in development for broadcasters in both the UK and internationally including an adaptation of Howard Mark’s cult autobiography, Mr Nice, a co-production with Independent Film Company, written by Neil Forsyth (BBC’s Guilt). Salmon will also be an Executive Producer on a new drama series for AMC, 61st Street, written by Peter Moffat and set in Chicago.
Hilary Salmon, former Head of Drama for BBC Studios, has developed and produced multi-award winning global hit dramas, including Luther; Three Girls; MotherFatherSon; Rillington Place and the long-running hit, Silent Witness. Prior to this she was Executive Producer on both the BAFTA award-winning series Criminal Justice, and the multi-Emmy winning U.S. reversion of the show for HBO – The Night Of. She has also co-produced other shows with HBO, including Five Days and House of Saddam, which won a Grierson Award.
Radford Neville was previously Managing Director of Drama at BBC Studios, and prior to this worked as Head of Production in Drama, overseeing international hit series including Doctor Who and Good Omens for Amazon/BBC. During many years as a Producer and Executive Producer Neville worked on titles as diverse as ITV’s crime drama DCI Banks, Wuthering Heights starring Tom Hardy, Loving Miss Hatto, written by Victoria Wood and The Borrowers starring Stephen Fry, Christopher Eccleston and Sharon Horgan.
Nick Betts was the first Managing Director of Scripted for the newly formed BBC Studios. There he led a production division with over 500 creative, business and operational staff, overseeing series including War and Peace, This Country, Inside No 9 and Doctor Who. Prior to that he was Controller of Business for BBC Drama, Films and Acquisitions managing all financial, commercial and legal aspects of the drama commissioning slate. He left BBC Studios in 2018 to work in the independent sector.
Gary Davey, CEO, Sky Studios said: “Hilary, Radford and Nick are three of the most renowned drama players in the broadcast field today. They share our vision to make thought-provoking, relevant dramas for audiences both in the UK and worldwide. We’re delighted to be working with such a first-class team with an impeccable track record in making brilliant dramas for audiences across the world.”
Cameron Roach, Sky’s Director of Drama, added: “We look forward to working closely with The Lighthouse team as we evolve the Sky Studios slate. They have an exceptional track record and brilliant talent relationships, which will be important in supporting our ambitions going forward. We’re really thrilled about this partnership.”
The Lighthouse founders Hilary Salmon, Radford Neville and Nick Betts, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Sky Studios. Being backed by an ambitious European broadcaster and global distributor whilst retaining the creative freedom to pursue a wide range of exciting projects really is the perfect combination. From day one, they recognised the strengths of The Lighthouse team and shared our ambition to make intelligent, authentic, modern dramas that audiences will love.”
Staff Reporter
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