Blue Ant Studios has begun production on "The Inigo Philbrick Story," a three-part documentary exploring the meteoric rise and fall of American art dealer, Inigo Philbrick. “We’re thrilled to be working with BBC Arts, to bring this multi-layered story to UK screens,” Jennifer Harkness, Executive Producer, Blue Ant Studios said.“This project is the first documentary that provides exclusive access to both Inigo Philbrick and Victoria Baker-Harber, a love story that spanned multiple countries, multi-million dollar art deals and an international manhunt ending in an exotic, South Pacific archipelago."
The series, commissioned by BBC Arts for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, will air in spring 2024 for its audiences in the UK. Filming will primarily take place in London New York, Pennsylvania, Vanuatu and Rhode Island. The studio will oversee distribution and pre-sales for the project outside commissioning territories. “This compelling series promises exclusive access to one of the most jaw-dropping art world stories of recent years," Alistair Pegg, BBC Arts Commissioning Editor, said.
The untitled three-part series is produced by Blue Ant Studios for the BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. Blue Ant Studios’ Jennifer Harkness and Laura Michalchyshyn serve as Executive Producers alongside David Hodgkinson. Gillian Hourihan is co-Executive Producer. Jamie Crawford is the Director and Sarah Sharkey Pearce serves as Showrunner. The series was commissioned for BBC Arts by Alistair Pegg.
The documentary provides exclusive access to Inigo Philbrick and his fiancee, Made in Chelsea star, Victoria Baker-Harber plus never-before-seen archive, video and text messages. The pair were the subject of a six-month international manhunt by the FBI. Philbrick’s ‘catch me if you can’ disappearance ended with his arrest on the island of Vanuatu in the South Pacific. He was tried and convicted and is currently serving seven years in prison in Pennsylvania.
Once the art world’s go-to contemporary art broker, he was convicted in a multi-million dollar fraud case that shook the art world and duped investors out of a shocking $86M USD over three years. Alongside the inside story from Inigo Philbrick and Victoria Baker-Harber, the series features interviews with leading art world figures, fine artists, buyers, dealers, lawyers and law enforcement to uncover the truth about the value of art in today’s market.