‘This company has quietly become a best-in-class supplier that has flourished despite tough market conditions’
The commissioning slowdown which has washed over the UK in the last 18 months has been acutely felt everywhere, but particularly in the nations and regions.
Faced with such grim realities, Glasgow-based Firecrest Films’ response was to redouble the efforts that had sustained the indie over its 15-year lifespan: identifying and crafting stand-out documentary.
Its recent output has cemented its presence among the UK’s leading factual producers with true crime titles Liar: The Fake Grooming Scandal (BBC3) and series two and three of BBC Scotland landmark doc strand Murder Trial (Murder Trial: The Disappearance of Renee and Andrew MacRae and Murder Trial: The Killing of Dr Brenda Page) receiving plaudits from critics and commissioners alike.
The doc trio resulted in Firecrest beginning 2024 in its strongest financial position ever and two further series of Murder Trial are in the works with the BBC.
Riding the wave of renewals in such a tough time for indies, Firecrest launched ob-doc Highland Cops and series five of blue-light sibling Paramedics on Scene. The programme was immediately awarded a double order for a sixth and seventh run.
Firecrest credits its continued success with the team and talent pool it has built over the years and internal support which has moved its work into more premium landscapes. It has invested in its team and has given seven individuals their first role in TV during the qualifying period.
These achievements were all reflected in the judges’ assessment who said: “This company has quietly become a best-in-class supplier that has flourished despite tough market conditions.”
SHORTLISTED
Air TV
Yorkshire-based Air makes it to the shortlist for the second year in succession, having delivered 100 hours of factual programming across seven series in the past year. This includes a bumper package for long-running automotive show Bangers & Cash and its spin-off Bangers & Cash: restoring Classics. Its growth over the past eights years has seen the indie reach revenues of £5m.
Full Fat TV
The past year has seen a stellar return for Full Fat, with over 40 hours delivered to broadcasters such as BBC3, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky Arts and Warner Bros Discovery. BBC3’s Fresh Cops won the Birmingham indie an RTS Award and its roster of clients has grown substantially from its one commissioner upon launching nine years ago. The indie has now diversified from its formats origins into specialist factual, current affairs, and docs.
Quay Street Productions
When Nicola Shindler partnered with ITV Studios to launch Quay Street in 2021, there was much expectation she would repeat the success she had for so long at her previous home Red Production Company. Quay Street has not disappointed. The label has grown its slate of scripted titles for myriad digital platforms and 2024 saw, arguably, its biggest mainstream breakout: Fool Me Once. The title was in Netflix’s global TV top 10 in 91 countries and spent seven weeks in the UK chart.
Spirit Studios
The Pete Cowley and Matt Campion-led outfit has always set out to embrace the expanding landscape that ‘multichannel’ now covers. Besides evergreen ITV2 series The Stand Up Sketch Show, now in its sixth series and continuing to grow both its overall and 16-34 audiences year-on-year, Spirit has recently produced two unscripted series for Channel 4’s digital channel 4.0 – Funraisers and Outsmarting. The latter established Spirit in the true-crime genre and led to 10-part A+E Networks EMEA co-pro Missing Presumed Dead.
Woodcut Media
10-year-old Woodcut is a mainstay in the UK factual landscape. Besides its leading presence as a true-crime producer, Kate Beal’s label has a broad library of unscripted titles spanning factual-entertainment, specialist factual and talent-led programming. Its recent orders have been plentiful including Amazon Prime Video trio Murder in a Teacup. Murder at First Swipe and Murder in the Red Light and long-running returners World’s Most Evil Killers/Britain’s Most Evil Killers (Sky Crime).
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