Rare TV snags Studio Ramsay exec Fernando de Jesus as creative director

Fernando de Jesus (Source: Rare TV)

UK-based factual and formats prodco Rare TV has appointed Studio Ramsay Global exec Fernando de Jesus as creative director.

De Jesus will be responsible for further developing the London-headquartered company’s output of factual programming. He previously served as creative director, UK and US, for Studio Ramsay Global, the production company founded by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.

During his four-year stint at the Gordon Ramsay and Fox Entertainment co-owned prodco, he set the company’s strategy and creative direction, working on titles including the relaunch of Kitchen Nightmares and Next Level Chef for Fox, The Savoy for ITV, Trailblazers and Future Food Stars for BBC One, and the upcoming No Taste Like Home With Antoni Porowski for Nat Geo / Disney+.

De Jesus has also worked as a consultant creative director for a number of indies and organisations and prior to this he spent seven years at ITV Studios working across a range of unscripted projects in production and development.

He is the third key creative to join Rare TV in the last six months, following the appointment of story consultant and executive producer Greg Chivers as US showrunner and development producer Abigail Keyes to the company’s Belfast office in May.

This year Rare TV delivered its first boxset to Sky Docs with The Russell Murders: Who Killed Lin And Megan? part of a true crime slate that includes the third series of Expert Witness for BBC One. It has doubled its output in the US with series like Ice Airport Alaska with season five just starting production while BBC One’s Digging For Britain, fronted by Professor Alice Roberts, has just finished filming its 11th season.

“Fernando has what we need to help deliver on our ambition to expand our output of landmark television and talent-driven factual – to refresh the parts other indies can’t reach, if you will. In a world that demands bigger and better, he is regarded as one of the most creative minds in television and crucially someone commissioners really enjoy working with,” said Alexander Gardiner, CEO of Rare TV.