Mentorn Media Taps Sky Alum Celia Taylor as MD

Celia Taylor, a former Sky executive, has been appointed managing director of Mentorn Media, which is owned by Tinopolis Group.

In her new position, Taylor is charged with driving and expanding Mentorn’s program and development slate, which includes such current series as Robot Wars, Question Time, Traffic Cops and Inside London Fire Brigade. She will concentrate on factual, factual entertainment and entertainment content for both the U.K. and the international market.

Taylor is taking over the duties of Jonathan Hewes, who will now focus solely on his role as CEO of Tinopolis specialist factual producer Pioneer. She will work under David Mortimer, Tinopolis Group’s director of content.

Most recently, Taylor served as head of non-scripted programming at Sky. Before that, she was director of programs at Virgin Media and commissioning editor for factual at BBC. Earlier in her career, she was a freelance producer.

Taylor remarked: “Mentorn is one of the TV industry’s most respected production companies and I am incredibly excited about working with the hugely talented team to further build on the success they have had to date.”

Mortimer noted: “Celia is one of the most talented and well-liked TV executives I’ve had the pleasure of working with in the past, so I know she’ll be the perfect fit for Mentorn. She is bursting with ideas and I am absolutely thrilled to have her on board to lead the brilliant Mentorn team.”

Arwel Rees, chief executive of Tinopolis Group, added: “Mentorn has had a strong year with shows ranging from Robot Wars to the agenda-setting Question Time Election specials, and from Traffic Cops proving a ratings hit on Channel 5 to the moving and insightful Inside London Fire Brigade for ITV—and Jonathan has been instrumental in that success. I am tremendously excited that with this new setup our senior team is perfectly positioned to further build on that success and lead both Pioneer and Mentorn into their next phase of growth, in what is sure to be an exciting future for both companies.”