All3Media puts Lion TV into Lime Pictures with Shahana Meer exiting

Horrible Histories

Discovery and Liberty Global-backed All3Media is moving Lion TV into Lime Pictures, with one of the former company’s managing directors exiting as a result.

Factual prodco Lion TV, which is behind Homes Under The Hammer, Horrible Histories and Cash Cab, will sit as an independent company under Lime, with managing director Shahana Meer leaving to explore other opportunities. Her next move is not yet known.

The realignment will see Lion TV’s London team moving to be co-sited with Lime Pictures’ London office, with the factual outfit’s Glasgow and New York operations remaining unchanged.

Former Lion joint MD’s Richard Bradley and Nick Catliff will become chief creative officer and chief content officer at the company, overseeing development and creative teams and focused on winning new business in the UK and internationally. They report into Lime’s join chiefs Kate Little and Claire Poyser.

Jane Turton, CEO of All3Media, said: “The changes we are making will allow Richard and Nick to concentrate on developing the slate even further while benefiting from the operational support and resources provided by the team at Lime, along with Kate and Claire’s first-class track record of growing strong, creative and successful businesses.

“It’s very sad that Shahana is leaving and I’d like to thank her for playing such a key role in Lion and in the wider group over many years. It has been a pleasure working with Shahana and I wish her every success in the future.”

Meer added: “I leave on a high knowing that I have helped create and run one of the most admired and successful production companies in the UK and internationally.”

Catliff and Bradley said they were “looking forward to working closely with Claire and Kate as part of the next phase of Lion’s life.”

The duo added: “This new structure will mean the Lion team can not only continue to produce the type of programmes that the company has built its reputation upon but also invest in new ideas to deliver creative growth.”

Lime has been bolstering its exec ranks over recent months, appointing former ITV Studios Entertainment exec Helen Kruger Bratt to oversee its UK-based unscripted productions while Nick Johns arrived from Scottish prodco STV to head up UK development.