Warner Bros. Television Production UK MDs to Depart

LONDON/BURBANK: Claire Hungate and Nick Emmerson, the managing directors of Warner Bros. Television Production UK (WBTVPUK), are both stepping down from their roles.

Formerly Shed Media, WBTVPUK comprises the indies Wall to Wall, Twenty Twenty, Ricochet, Yalli and Renegade, with a majority stake bought by Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG) in 2010. Hungate and Emmerson stepped up to oversee the business when WBTVG took full ownership in 2014.

Hungate joined Wall to Wall in 2004 as commercial and legal director, and she became MD in 2008 following her part in Wall to Wall’s sale to what was then Shed Media. She took on the role of commercial director of the Shed Media Group and was part of the team that led Shed’s delisting from AIM and subsequently the management buyout backed by Warner Bros. in 2010. She became COO of the Warner Bros.-owned Shed Media in 2011.

Emmerson joined Ricochet as an executive producer in 2001. After co-creating and executive producing Supernanny, he moved to Los Angeles in 2006 as executive VP of Ricochet Television USA before becoming president of the newly launched Shed Media US in 2009. In 2013, Emmerson returned to the U.K. to become CEO of Ricochet before becoming MD of WBTVPUK in 2014.

In a joint statement, Warner Bros. Television Group’s president and chief content officer, Peter Roth, and Warner Bros. Television Group’s business and strategy president, Craig Hunegs, said: “Nick and Claire have done an outstanding job in helping to redefine, shape and to manage Warner Bros. Television Production UK as the company transitioned from its previous incarnation as Shed Media. Their hard work and talent are matched only by their integrity and character and we are enormously grateful for their contributions towards our success. We wish them both the very best in all of their future endeavors and thank them again for their excellent service.”

Hungate said: “I’m hugely proud to have worked with such a successful group of TV production companies and to have helped create a Super Indie worthy of incorporation into a company as iconic as Warner Bros. It’s been a privilege to work with and learn from some of the most talented and creative people in the business, with high quality continuing to be our benchmark. After an exhilarating rollercoaster ride, it now feels like the right time to embrace new challenges.”

Emmerson said: “When I joined Ricochet in 2001 there was a handful of us working in a tiny office in Brighton. Now our group’s TV shows are enjoyed by many millions of people in the U.K. and around the world every week. It’s been a wonderful journey and the time feels right for a new adventure.”

Hungate and Emmerson added: “We’re sad to leave such an incredible group of indies but happy that we leave the group at the top of its game, with more non-scripted hours in production than ever, a host of hugely successful global formats, newly commissioned scripted series and a profitable and growing digital business. We leave in the knowledge that the group’s further growth is in the safe hands of the Warner Bros. family.”