Clapperboard hires ‘The Holiday’ execs Rachel Gesua & Suzi McIntosh

The Holiday

UK scripted label Clapperboard Studios has hired Rachel Gesua and Suzi McIntosh as in-house senior executive producers.

The duo’s appointments follow their previous collaboration with Clapperboard, as co-executive producers of The Holiday, the Jill Halfpenny-led thriller which aired on Channel 5 and Netflix last year, on behalf of Projector Pictures.

Gesua joins Clapperboard from Projector Pictures, where she worked on shows such as Alice Through The Looking Glass and Cinderella, and produced Twelfth Night for Channel 4 and The Body Farm for the BBC.

She also exec produced two series of Kidnap And Ransom for ITV, as well as the aforementioned The Holiday and The Catch for Channel 5.

McIntosh, meanwhile, currently serves as executive producer for the BBC on long-running crime drama Silent Witness, and also co-exec produced The Catch, alongside Gesua, in her role at Projector Pictures.

Previously, McIntosh was head of development, comedy and drama at Kindle and worked as script executive on Peaky Blinders.

Gesua and McIntosh join a team headed up by executive producer and managing director Mike Benson, with Michael Klokkos as head of production, Andy Morgan as executive producer and Jonathan Hall as head of development.

Clapperboard Studios recently secured the TV rights to Uncut, an adaptation of Chris Thompson’s semi-autobiographical podcast Two Foreskins Walked Into A Bar.

It is currently co-producing The Serial Killer’s Wife and The Castaways for Paramount +, both alongside Blackbox Multimedia, as well as The Good Ship Murder for Channel 5 and a third series of The Madame Blanc Mysteries for Channel 5 and Acorn TV, in co-production with Saffron Cherry Productions.

“Having been in the trenches with Rachel and Suzi on The Holiday at the height of Covid I recognised and valued what talented and collaborative producers they were,” said Benson.

“Their experience producing at different budget levels as well as an ability to develop and package fantastic scripted concepts also really chimed with our ambitions. We’re excited to continue the Clapperboard adventure with them at the heart of our team.”