David Brindley is to spearhead creativity and origination at Twofour as he takes up the role of Chief Creative Officer, joining the label next year with responsibility for devising and implementing the label’s creative strategy as it enters a new era.
Brindley is currently the BBC’s Head of commissioning for Popular Factual and Factual Entertainment, overseeing commissions for BBC One, Two and Three, totalling over 350 hours of content a year. His department’s commissions over the past three years at the BBC include Race Across the World; Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing; Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out; The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan; The Murder of Jill Dando; War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita; Your Home Made Perfect; Travels in Trumpland with Ed Balls and The Rap Game UK.
Prior to the BBC, Brindley was a documentaries commissioner at Channel 4 for three years, and before that was a documentary maker for over a decade, previously working with Twofour when co-series director on the Emmy award-winning Educating Yorkshire, and picking up BAFTA nominations for his producing work on The Fallen and Beautiful Young Minds, both for BBC Two.
Brindley completes the new senior management team at Twofour which was unveiled by CEO of award-winning ITV Studios labels MultiStory Media and Twofour Tim Carter today. Dan Adamson (The Hotel Inspector, Beat the Chef), Group Director of Programmes at Twofour since 2010, is promoted to Managing Director and will work alongside Brindley across the label on strategy. With a brief to help grow the whole of the business, Adamson will focus on ensuring the label’s shows are delivered to the highest standard, as well as building the Nations and Regions with Boomerang and Twofour West reporting into him.
BAFTA award-winning Creative Director David Clews (International Emmy award-winning Educating series; Rose d’Or winning Real Marigold Hotel; Ibiza Weekender) will continue working across Twofour in a new consultancy role, remaining exclusive to the label in non-scripted programming but with the flexibility to pursue broader scripted opportunities. The new look team is completed by newly promoted Director of Programmes Twofour West, Rachel Innes-Lumsden (Save Money: Lose Weight, Matt Allright’s Housing Scandal), Sam Grace, Director of Programmes leading the charge at the Cardiff-based Boomerang, Group Director of Production Shireen Abbott and Jake Roberts, who has been promoted to Financial Director.
Carter has also appointed Pukar Mehta to work alongside him as Chief Operating Officer of MultiStory Media and Twofour, with responsibility across areas including production, finance, business affairs, HR and technology. Mehta joined ITV in 2010 as the Group’s Head of Business Development before moving across to Commercial Director of ITV Studios in 2014, leading on acquisitions and investments alongside his portfolio responsibility over ITV Studios’ labels. Mehta, who starts with immediate effect, has sat on the board of Twofour for the last four years.
“Over the past couple of years,” said Carter, “David has transformed popular factual at the BBC into an incubator for bold, contemporary, global formats. The creative ambition he’s championed is the perfect match for Twofour. He joins a best in class team. Dan Adamson is an outstanding creative manager, who along with David Clews has been at the heart of Twofour’s greatest hits over the past decade.”
David Brindley said: “I’ve had the best three years imaginable at the BBC and the chance to work with the absolute cream of the crop of TV talent, both on screen and off. It’ll be hard to leave everyone who has been so supportive of me and made my time so enjoyable especially Alison and my top-notch commissioning team. I’ve loved the chance to create some hopefully memorable television with Charlotte, Patrick and Fiona, but the opportunity to set my sights back on production and taking the reins at Twofour will be a dream job and a real privilege. I’m so looking forward to leading the super talented team there in what promises to be an exciting new chapter for the company.”
Dan Adamson said: “David Brindley returning as the CCO marks a really exciting time for the Twofour Group as we start a new chapter. He won an Emmy when he was last at Twofour and I can’t wait to start working alongside him and with our great teams in Plymouth, Cardiff and London.”
David Clews said: “I’ve had an amazing time at Twofour, working with the industry’s top talent. We’ve created some of the most talked about and landmark shows on TV and I’m thrilled to be part of Twofour’s next defining chapter, whilst also having the opportunity to pursue my drama ambitions.”
Twofour and Multistory Media retain their separate identities. Acquired in 2015 by ITV Studios, Twofour has a regional base in Plymouth and a nations base in Cardiff.