ITV Studios gets Possessed by new UK indie

ITV Studios and UK producer Glenn Hugill are setting up a new UK indie, Possessed TV.

Hugill (left) started out as an actor – starring in Coronation Street, Footballers Wive$ and Dalziel and Pascoe – before going on to produce shows including The Mole, Cash Cab and Deal or No Deal. He also created the 101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow for the BBC and ITV’s The Whole 19 Yards.

“This is the most exciting time for TV format creation since the 1950s. Modern viewers have so taken control as to redefine what it means to watch TV,” Hugill said.

“It’s a bit like discovering the house you’ve lived in for 50 years has a huge attic you never knew about. And a garden. With a pond in it. The time is right and the fit with ITV Studios feels great. Let’s get in that pond.”

The new content company will sit alongside the other UK prodcos in the ITV Studios stable, which includes 12 Yard Productions and Potato. The content arm of the UK broadcaster has also been expanding aggressively internationally, notably in the US.

“I am absolutely thrilled that Glenn has chosen ITV Studios to partner with him in Possessed TV,” said Denise O’Donoghue, ITV Studios UK managing director, who will soon see Discovery Networks International programming chief Julian Bellamy replace her, as reported earlier this year.

She added: “Glenn is a brilliant creative talent, an ideas person, and a meticulous producer with the necessary drive and charisma to get shows across the commissioning line and to keep them on air.”