Remarkable hires ex-Optomen exec

Endemol Shine UK prodco Remarkable has hired a former Optomen Television development exec and promoted an in-house producer to built entertainment and factual teams.

Patrick Furlong (left) has joined the Deal or No Deal producer as head of factual, meaning he will oversee the factual slate, while in-house executive producer Richard Hague has been named head of entertainment.

Furlong was most recently at Optomen, where he executive produced series such as Employable Me for BBC Two and Kevin McCloud’s Escape to the Wild for Channel 4.

Hague (right) joined Endemol Shine UK, the British arm of the Endemol Shine Group, in 2005. He has recently worked on series such as The Big Spell for Sky 1, the recently-axed Deal or No Deal and BBC One gameshow Pointless.

Both will report into Remarkable’s joint managing directors James Fox and Kitty Walshe, who took up their posts in July 2015 after the exit of Colette Foster.

“As we look to further diversify our portfolio, we are hugely excited to have Richard and Patrick in these new roles,” said Fox and Walshe in a statement.

“Richard is a first-class producer and has played a significant role in Remarkable’s success, while Patrick has a proven track record in quality factual formats for the major broadcasters. Together they will make a great complementary team.”