Fulwell 73 cuts UK formats team

Fulwell 73 has cut its UK formats team with creative directors Rachel Arnold and Jon Green among a handful of staff being let go, Broadcast has learned.

The cuts come shortly after it emerged that the The Kardashians indie has struck a 50/50 transatlantic merger with The SpringHill Company, the entertainment business founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter. Fulwell 73 is behind shows including James Corden’s CBS show The Late Late Show, which was axed last year, BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey and Netflix’s Sunderland ’Til I Die, besides Hulu’s The Kardashians.

A Fulwell 73 spokesperson said: “When we announced our forthcoming merger with The SpringHill Company we stated that our intention was to focus on a consolidated, transatlantic development team that reflects the changing needs of the global media landscape.

“As part of that evolution, we have jointly agreed with the UK format team to close this standalone department. Rachel, Jon and their team are exceptionally talented and we’ve loved working with them.

“They are leaving behind a number of prime-time projects and we are already in talks about potential future collaborations.”

Broadcast revealed Arnold and Green had joined the indie in February last year to push for growth in international territories and build on opportunities with UK broadcasters. It followed their decision to stand down as RDF creative director and creative director of development, respectively, after 12 months.

The pair previously co-founded Banijay (then Endemol Shine Group) label Definitely before being handed creative leadership of stablemate RDF and its sub-labels Fizz and Little Wonder.

Arnold previously exec produced I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here and Hell’s Kitchen, before becoming Whizz Kid’s creative director to co-create entertainment formats including Let’s Dance for Comic Relief.

Green has exec produced Channel 4’s Gemma Collins: Self Harm & Me, the Million Pound… franchise for Channel 5 and 999: Emergency Call Out for 5Star. He is also the former head of development at Spun Gold.

Their future plans have not been revealed.