Tigress chief retirement triggers rejig

Dick Colthurst is to retire from television this autumn, with Sarah Swingler replacing him as managing director of Endemol Shine Group prodco Tigress Productions.

Colthurst (pictured) has worked in TV for 35 years, including twelve as MD of Naked and Marooned with Ed Stafford producer Tigress. The former BBC producer is leaving the business and the UK to move to the Alps.

“The realisation that I could soon be travelling to meetings in London on a Senior Railcard makes it time to hand over to someone new and Sarah will do a brilliant job taking Tigress forward,” said Colthurst.

“I doubt many people have had as much fun going in to work every day as I’ve had over the last 35 years so I feel incredibly fortunate. I’ll miss the fantastic team at Tigress and the hugely talented supporting cast in Bristol, but my wife and I are off to live in the Alps so it’s not so bad really.”

His replacement, Swingler, has been executive producer at Tigress sister company Dragonfly for six years, and began heading up Cardiff-based Dragonfly West in 2012.

Catherine Welton is also joining Bristol-based Tigress as creative director to replace Pete Lawrence, who recently left at more than two years to pursue his own TV and writing projects after finding success with his first book.

Welton was previously at RDF West, the Bristol-based arm of Banijay Group-owned RDF Media, where she was in-house executive producer on show such as Choose the Right Puppy For You for BBC Two. She will focus on expanding Tigress’ features and factual entertainment slate.

Colthurst and Lawrence’s exits are the latest management changes at Endemol Shine prodcos, with other such Kudos, Original Media and Remarkable Television getting new bosses since Endemol and Shine merged at the end of 2014.