BBC Worldwide takes majority stake in SS-GB and The Durrells producer

Sid Gentle Films produced BBC One’s SS-GB.
The BBC’s commercial arm has bought a majority stake in Sid Gentle Films Ltd, the independent production company behind BBC One’s SS-GB and ITV’s The Durrells.

Under the deal, BBC Worldwide has taken a 51% stake in the company and has the option to increase its stake in future years.

The firm was founded by Sally Woodward Gentle in 2013 along with Lee Morris and Henrietta Colvin with a focus to develop and produce innovative, original and ambitious television drama and feature films.

Prior to setting up the company, Gentle worked on a number of titles including the BAFTA award-winning Any Human Heart, the ITV hit Whitechapel, the award-winning Enid starring Helena Bonham-Carter, Tipping the Velvet and Cambridge Spies.

At Sid Gentle Films Ltd she and her team have produced The Durrells for ITV and Masterpiece, SS-GB for the BBC, Neil Gaiman’s Likely Stories for Sky and the soon to be released Killing Eve for BBC AMERICA.

Sally Woodward Gentle, Chief Executive of Sid Gentle Films Ltd, said: “We couldn’t be more delighted to be joining forces with BBC Worldwide.

“Their respect for our independence coupled with their extraordinary industry links and sales ability is really exciting.

“Sid has built a reputation working with extraordinary talent and developing projects we believe in and it is very exciting to further our ambitions to create and deliver impactful drama.

“We have enjoyed working with BBC Worldwide in the past so can’t wait for this new phase in Sid’s life”.

Helen Jackson, BBC Worldwide’s Managing Director of Content, commented: “We have enjoyed working with Sally and her team immensely over the past three years and this is a great opportunity to build on our partnership. 

“Sid Gentle has already delivered several much-loved dramas and we are super excited by what we have seen so far of their latest – Killing Eve.

“They represent perfectly the creative vibrancy that is British drama right now”.

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