Video Interview: Stephen Lambert

NEW YORK: In this video interview, Stephen Lambert, the chief executive of Studio Lambert, discusses the openness of American networks to picking up international concepts and talks about the growing importance of social media.

When Stephen Lambert decided to launch a new TV production company, he already had a number of hits to his credit, with Wife Swap, The Secret Millionaire and Faking It. He launched Studio Lambert, in partnership with ALL3MEDIA, first in the U.K. and shortly after set up shop in the U.S., keen to find a formula for developing and launching shows on both sides of the Atlantic.

Success came early with Undercover Boss, a Channel 4 doc series. The show soon grabbed the attention of CBS, which placed the premiere for the U.S. version of Undercover Boss directly after the Super Bowl, drawing 38.7 million viewers to become the most-watched premiere episode of any reality series.

The new Studio Lambert format Three in a Bed is following on this successful path. Distributed by ALL3MEDIA International, the show has been re-commissioned by Channel 4, which also ordered a stripped daytime version, and has been sold into a number of international territories and is in preproduction in the U.S. and Europe. The format The Fairy Jobmother also first had its launch in the U.K., airing on Channel 4 before heading to Lifetime Television in the States.

Further to its cross-Atlantic efforts, Studio Lambert earlier this month signed a production partnership deal with U.K. indie Betty that sees its scripted and non-scripted formats being produced with Studio Lambert in the U.S.