Optomen, one of the UK’s top factual TV producers, has been acquired by independent television production group, All3Media.
Optomen’s joint venture with superchef Gordon Ramsay, One Potato Two Potato, also joins All3Media as does Optomen’s New York based company Optomen Productions Inc. All three companies will be wholly owned by All3Media.
Over more than a decade, Optomen has been responsible for launching the TV careers of household names including Clarissa Dickson Wright and Jennifer Paterson (Two Fat Ladies), Jamie Oliver (The Naked Chef), Gordon Ramsay (Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares) and Mary Portas (Mary Queen of Shops). Other recent hits include Heston’s Feast, Great British Menu and Market Kitchen as well as Police, Camera, Action! which has been running for 15 years on ITV. These series are distributed globally by Optomen International.
The sale of One Potato Two Potato after two years of trading is a coup for Gordon Ramsay, who in recent years has taken a keen interest in the business of television in addition to fronting an unprecedented five network TV series on both sides of the Atlantic. These include the upcoming Gordon Ramsay’s Best Restaurant on Channel 4 in the UK and Optomen’s original format, Kitchen Nightmares, alongside Hell’s Kitchen and Masterchef for Fox in the US.
Since its launch in 2002, Manhattan based Optomen Productions Inc has also produced a wide-range of factual programming for U.S. networks. The company has enjoyed continued growth and is currently in production on shows for Animal Planet, Discovery, Travel Channel and Food Network. Recent hits include Worst Cooks in America and Monsters Inside Me.
Pat Llewellyn, Managing Director of Optomen said: “The television landscape has changed dramatically and now feels like the right time to benefit from the scale and experience of All3Media. The support they’ll give us on the business side will allow us to spend more time doing what we love most, working with the best talent to make fantastic programmes that people want to watch.”
Gordon Ramsay joined her in saying: “I’m very happy to be joining All3Media and look forward to growing One Potato Two Potato in the UK and in America. Twenty years of working in kitchens has taught me that success is always a team effort, and with the help of the team at All3Media I’m confident we can take things to the next level and soon reach three potato, four potato and more.”
Steve Morrison, Chief Executive of All3Media said: “Pat Llewellyn and her team have done a wonderful job with Optomen producing long running, award winning and genre defining TV series one after another. They are a jewel in the UK’s TV crown and have a distinguished record in discovering new on screen talent and developing shows that get the best out of that talent. And with One Potato Two Potato they have created a brilliant vehicle to make the most out of the unstoppable force of nature that is Gordon Ramsay. We look forward to helping Optomen and One Potato Two Potato grow in Britain, America and around the world. We welcome them to the All3Media family.”
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