ITV Studios Takes Majority Stake in Hartswood

ITV Studios has acquired a majority stake in Hartswood Films, behind such series as Douglas Is Cancelled (ITV), The Devil’s Hour (Prime Video) and Sherlock (BBC).

Hartswood is led by Sue Vertue, CEO and executive producer, alongside Debbie Vertue, director of operations; Dan Cheesbrough, managing director; and Steven Moffat, creative director and executive producer. Other recent series to its credit include Dracula and the miniseries thriller Inside Man, both for the BBC and Netflix, as well as Wolf and The Control Room for the BBC.

International distribution for future Hartswood Films commissions will be handled by ITV Studios.

Julian Bellamy, managing director of ITV Studios, said: “From Men Behaving Badly to Sherlock, The Devil’s Hour to Douglas Is Cancelled, Hartswood Films has been a huge part of the TV landscape for decades. They have a hard-won reputation for being brilliant producers of quality, ambitious and highly successful scripted television. I’m delighted to welcome them to ITV Studios.”

Vertue of Hartswood Films said: “Hartswood is not known for making rash decisions and it’s taken us 40 years to make this one: we are delighted therefore to have chosen to team up with ITV Studios.

“We have always been open to investment if we could meet like-minded people who understood the need for independence which is at the ‘heart’ of Hartswood, while bringing us a whole new range of strengths and skills. We are a small company and have done very well on our own, but we couldn’t be more excited about a bigger future and what we can achieve together with ITV Studios.”