ITV Studios’ indie, The Garden, has hired Nicola Brown as Director of Programmes and has promoted Ninder Billing to Head of Specialist Factual.
Brown will join Chief Executive Magnus Temple, Chief Creative Officer John Hay and Managing Director Nicola Hill to help grow and deliver The Garden’s expanding slate, which includes Channel 4 hits 24 Hours in A&E and 24 Hours in Police Custody, new shows for the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Nat Geo and the recent commission of the US version of 24 Hours in Police Custody, a co-production for Channel 4 and Discovery.
Brown will begin her new role in March. She joins from Channel 4 where she was a Commissioning Editor in the Specialist Factual team, overseeing SAS: Who Dares Wins and a raft of new series including the currently airing Meat the Family and the upcoming Joanne Lees and Peter Falconio crime series, as well as the channel’s new factual digital strand True Stories.
Prior to Channel 4, Brown was Head of Documentaries at Shine and executive producer for Hunted and Celebrity Hunted series and The Island with Bear Grylls. Other production credits include RDF’s Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6-year-olds, Educating Cardiff for Twofour and 24 Hours in A&E during a first stint with The Garden.
Ninder Billing has been appointed as Head of Specialist Factual. Billing has been an Executive Producer at the company for the past two years, overseeing projects including BAFTA-nominated Operation Live on Channel 5, ITV’s Police Tapes series, BBC Two commission Five Star Renovation: Inside The Luxury Hotel (w/t), and The Unshockable Dr Ronx (w/t) for BBC Three. Billing has a long-track record as an executive producer and commissioner of innovative programmes from popular documentaries and formats to live events and current affairs, having previously been a commissioning editor at Channel 5.
Magnus Temple, said: “Nicola is the perfect addition to the senior team. Already known and respected by many at The Garden, she has a stellar track record, having worked on some of the most memorable Channel 4 factual hits of recent years, and so we’re very lucky to be able to benefit from her creative and production firepower.
“I’m also delighted that Ninder has agreed to lead the charge on our expanding specialist factual slate, building on the success of the brilliant Operation Live.”
Brown said: “I first worked at The Garden almost a decade ago, and I’m thrilled to be able to take this opportunity to rejoin the team. The Garden has an extraordinary reputation for delivering projects of scale and ambition with real heart, and I look forward to contributing to this impressive body of work.
"I’ve really enjoyed my time at Channel 4, thanks to Danny, Fatima and my colleagues for all their support.”
Billing said: “I’m really excited to be drawing on The Garden’s amazing documentary heritage and helping to take it into a new territory.”
Staff Reporter
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