Fremantle has increased its stake in U.K. producer Dancing Ledge Productions to become its majority shareholder. The production banner is behind such BBC ratings hits as The Responder, starring Martin Freeman, and The Salisbury Poisonings.
Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Fremantle is part of German media giant Bertelsmann’s European TV arm RTL Group.
Founded by CEO Laurence Bowen in 2016, with backing from Fremantle, Dancing Ledge is also behind the upcoming thriller series Crossfire, starring Keeley Hawes, and the Disney+ Star U.K. romantic comedy action thriller series Wedding Season. The company has previously secured a second season commission from BBC One for The Responder, which is due to go into production later this year.
“Fremantle is proud to invest and work with the very best creative minds in the business,” said Fremantle group CEO Jennifer Mullin. “Dancing Ledge are exceptional talents, all of whom take enormous pride in their work, which in turn inspires and entertains millions of people.”
Said Bowen: “Authorship and authenticity are at the heart of what we do, and we wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without the unwavering support of Fremantle from day one. Expanding our relationship with Fremantle will allow us to continue to work with the amazing development, production and finance teams we have.”
This is the latest deal for Fremantle following acquisitions over the past year of production labels in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, Italian scripted producer Lux Vide (Leonardo), international development and production firm Fabel (Bosch), Australian-U.S. company Eureka Productions (Finding Magic Mike) and U.K. unscripted company Label1 (Hospital, Five Guys a Week).
