Fremantle has appointed Amelia Brown as CEO of its business in the UK, replacing Simon Andreae who left the company this month.

Formerly Managing Director of UK label Thames, Brown has worked at Fremantle for twenty years. She announced in January that she was leaving the company in July to set up her own production company, but will now stay on in the new role.

1. Fremantle. Amelia Brown

Amelia Brown, Fremantle UK

After first joining in 2003 as a freelancer and then on a permanent basis from 2013, Brown was appointed managing director of Thames in 2017. She has been a key creative on almost every series of Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor in series producer and executive producer roles. She also led the expansion of the label into the world of reality television and factual entertainment with programmes including Too Hot To Handle for Netflix (a co-production with fellow UK label Talkback) and recent commissions including MAMMA MIA! I Have a Dream for ITV and The Big Celebrity Detox for E4.

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Based in London, she will report to group CEO Jennifer Mullin and will also join Fremantle’s global leadership team.

As CEO of the UK business, she will oversee Fremantle labels Thames, Talkback and Naked – the producers of shows including Britain’s Got Talent, Too Hot To Handle, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, QI, The Apprentice and The Rap Game UK. Majority investment Label 1 (Hospital, World’s Collide: The Manchester Bombing) will also report to Brown.

In a memo to Fremantle staff earlier this month, Andreae said that he was leaving the company after eight years to “focus on my health, my family and a smaller portfolio of projects”.

Jennifer Mullin, group CEO of Fremantle commented: “I have had the pleasure of working closely with Amelia for over five years and know that she will make a fantastic leader of our UK business. She knows how to make great shows, and more than that is an incredibly astute businesswoman and inclusive and inspiring leader. I am looking forward to collaborating even more closely with her and supporting her vision for the future.”

Brown said: “I am thrilled to be taking on this role to lead the UK and I am beyond proud and excited to champion our incredible people and best-in-class programming. Having worked here for twenty years, I know that this is a very special place that celebrates creativity; I can’t wait to work with our brilliant teams as we are lucky enough to have some of the very best programme makers and continue to grow Fremantle UK.”

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