News, Current Affairs and Documentaries

The News & Current Affairs team is run by Andrew O'Connell.

                
This department looks after the daily news shows on Channel 5, which are supplied by Sky News including Channel 5 News. We also run the new nightly news / entertainment magazine show Live from Studio Five. We are always looking for great ideas and top guests and will pay for real scoops.

What We Are Looking For...

This department also commissions documentaries in prime time which deal with contemporary or topical issues. In particular we look after crime programming on the channel which includes series such as Brighton Beach Patrol, Vice Squad and Police Interceptors. We also interested in other hour-long observational series which can work for us in prime time – one recent example was Warship or alternatively a lightly formatted series like Celebrity Quitters which was ad-funded. Any new series should have strong entertainment values and comedic characters if appropriate.
We do not commission classic current affairs analysis or investigation, but we are always interested in exciting accessible routes into contemporary issues and stories. These could include celebrity led series.

We are mainly keen on series but will very occasionally commission a single hour and but these need to be very high impact. Recent examples are the profile of Armen Meiwes the German cannibal killer and an interview bade doc about Natascha Kampusch.

We also acquire crime, sex and prison-based series.

Finally I am interested in talent led projects such as Paul Merton in Europe. They do not have to be travelogues, but the talent does have to be well known and preferably comedic.
 

 

Recent Commissions

• Paul Merton in Europe 6 x 60
• Live from Studio Five – 220 x 60
• Celebrity Quitters 10 x30
• True CSI 10 x 60
• Banged Up Abroad – series 4 13 x 60
• Brighton Beach Patrol Warship 2 - 6 x 60
• Warship series 2 6 x 60