Endemol Shine & MasterChef’s Karen Ross Launch Production Venture

LONDON: Endemol Shine UK has aligned with Karen Ross, the creative director of MasterChef, to launch the new production outfit Sidney Street.

The new venture will specialize in food, factual and lifestyle formats. Ross has been working at the helm of MasterChef in the U.K. for 12 years. She launched a reversioned MasterChef in 2005, originally as series producer. In her time as creative director, Ross has launched and overseen eight series of MasterChef: The Professionals, ten Celebrity MasterChefs and three iterations of MasterChef Junior.

David Ambler, executive editor of MasterChef who has worked with Ross on the show for eight years, will oversee all versions of the format starting in 2016 from within Shine TV.

Ross said: “Working on MasterChef for the last 12 years has been a privilege, and though I will always feel very attached to it I have decided that now is the right time for a new adventure. The biggest joy of making MasterChef has been working with all the talented teams, judges and contestants whose passion and dedication makes MasterChef what it is—and will continue to be.”

She continued, “I’m delighted to be launching Sidney Street Productions with the support and backing of Endemol Shine. With a strong skill set in food programs and competitions the vision for Sidney Street Productions is to deliver high quality, populist programming with storytelling at its heart. I’m hugely excited to take on this challenge to develop and bring new formats to broadcast partners and look forward to working on new and exciting projects that lay ahead.”

Richard Johnston, CEO of Endemol Shine UK, said: “Karen is a brilliant creative producer. That MasterChef is enjoying some its best ratings after 12 years is a testimony to her drive, dedication and eye for detail. She leaves the show on a real high, in the excellent hands of her long time collaborator David and we are delighted at Endemol Shine to launch the next phase of her story with her.”