MUMBAI: Amanda Wilson and Elliot Johnson, co-creators of ITV quiz show format The Chase, are joining BBC Studios’ entertainment and music division.
The duo will leave their Banijay-owned Sharp Jack label next month to oversee creative development in the department led by MD Suzy Lamb.
The department produces more than 300 hours of content a year, including Strictly Come Dancing, Comic Relief, Glastonbury coverage and A Question of Sport.
Wilson and Johnson, whose other credits include Four Weddings, The Waiting Game, Who Dares Sings and RTÉ Ireland’s Raised by the Village, will be responsible for devising and advancing original format ideas through to commission for a variety of broadcasters and platforms in the UK and globally. They will report to Lamb.
They will also provide editorial direction and strategic business leadership for the development team, working alongside three other creative directors – Mel Balac, Pete Ogden and James Payne.
The duo set up Sharp Jack Media in 2011 and developed a range of shows for the UK and Ireland including Scorchio, Queer as Pop and dating show Always the Bridesmaid .
They joined the then Endemol Shine UK in 2017 as joint MDs of Sharp Jack TV, taking their existing IP and developments to build the label within the media company’s production group across entertainment and factual entertainment.
Following Banijay’s takeover of Endemol Shine, they created and exec produced a number of new titles, including E4 gameshow Darling What Have You Done to Your Hair? and Tough Old Landlords for NPO Netherlands.
