PRESS RELEASE
UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 19.03.15 08:30AM GMT
TOP UK TV EXECS LAUNCH 360° MEDIA COMPANY SUGAR FILMS
Sugar Films to Integrate TV Content, Digital Production & Creative Solutions to Produce Next
Generation of Content
Senior TV executives and industry leaders Pat Younge, Narinder Minhas and Lucy Pilkington have cofounded a new 360° media company, Sugar Films. Launching today, the company will integrate television
content, digital production and creative solutions to create bold, entertaining and provocative programming
for young, mainstream and diverse audiences.
Based in London and Cardiff, the company encompasses production company Sugar Films and its digital arm
Sugar Films Lab. Sugar Films will leverage the founder’s areas of creative expertise to deliver the next
generation of original returnable formats, alongside creating and producing impactful documentaries and
innovative specialist factual series for both UK and international broadcasters and OTT providers.
Sugar Films Lab will focus on sourcing new ideas and concepts from emerging creative talent. Consisting of
an online platform and a quarterly competition, it aims to create a bridge between the media industry and
new talent. It will develop, showcase and pilot a wide range of voices and content, the best of which will
then be offered to broadcasters, OTT providers, advertisers and funding agencies for further development.
Pat Younge, Co-founder & Managing Director, Sugar Films says, “The proliferation of broadcasters and
platforms seeking quality content makes this the right time for us to launch Sugar Films. Our industry track
records, commercial experience and creative vision enable us to build a global media power-house, which
will redefine the notion of diversity in our industry as being modern, mainstream and value creating.”
Lucy Pilkington, Co-founder & Creative Director, Sugar Films adds, “There’s never been a better time to
mainstream diversity. We know that bold, provocative and challenging programmes can draw huge
audiences, and we intend to be the go-to company for these ideas across all platforms.”
Narinder Minhas, Co-founder & Creative Director, Sugar Films also adds, “Creatively, we’ll be playful;
having fun with form, making unusual connections, left-field castings and blurring boundaries to find the
spaces between genres to create new and exciting hybrid shows.”
Each of the three co-founders have equal shareholding in the company and together form a formidable team
with a proven track record of delivering ratings hits and critical success, both as broadcasters and content
creators. Combined, their award-winning credits include Here and Now (BBC 1), Man v Food (Travel
Channel), The Food Hospital (Channel 4), Snowden and Margaret: Inside A Royal Marriage (Channel 4),
Danny Dyer’s Real Football Factories (Bravo), The Private Life of Harley Street (BBC 2), 4thought.tv (Channel
4), You Have Been Warned (Discovery), The Girl with 7 Mums (Channel 5) and Make Me a Muslim (Channel
4).
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As Managing Director Pat Younge will oversee Sugar Films Lab and the company’s operations. Narinder and
Lucy are Creative Directors, leading the development of new content and formats across a range of
platforms.
Prior to cofounding Sugar Films, Pat was Chief Creative Officer of BBC Productions, where he led 3000 inhouse programme makers in comedy, drama, entertainment and factual. He also founded consultancy firm
WeCreate Associates. He has worked in commissioning and production for over 20 years, across ITV, the BBC
and Channel 4, and also led the turnaround of major American cable network, Travel Channel Media,
culminating in its sale for $1Bn in 2009.
As Director of Programmes at Diverse Productions, Narinder helped to create one of the most successful
brands in British television, which was eventually sold for a substantial sum. He’s gone on to executive
produce across a range of genres, from the edgy Make Me A Muslim to the provocative The Girl With 7
Mums, to unashamedly populist Snowdon and Margaret: Inside A Royal Marriage. Narinder spent his
formative years as a journalist at the BBC, rising through the ranks on Panorama to become Deputy Editor of
the Money Programme. He’s also worked at Channel 4 as a Commissioning Editor and at top indies, including
Ten Alps and Nerd TV.
A leading industry spokesperson on diversity and inclusion, Lucy has worked as a commissioning editor for a
range of terrestrial, digital and global broadcasters. As part of the senior commissioning team at Virgin
media she created the Danny Dyer franchise and hit dance format Bump n Grind, and at Channel 4 she
developed popular formats such as the Food Hospital and Four Rooms. Most recently at BBC Worldwide she
adapted Come Dine With Me and Stargazing for the international market. As an executive producer for major
production companies Lucy has originated numerous popular returning series, notably the popular science
hit You Have Been Warned for Discovery Networks International.
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Notes to editors
About Sugar Films
Based in London and Cardiff, Sugar Films is a 360° media company focused on integrating television content,
digital production and creative solutions to create bold, diverse and provocative content for young, modern
and diverse audiences. Founded by senior TV executives Pat Younge, Narinder Minhas and Lucy Pilkington,
the company aims to mainstream diversity through the creation of next generation original returnable
formats, impactful documentaries and innovative specialist factual series that will have global appeal for
both UK and international broadcasters and OTT providers. Through its digital arm Sugar Films Lab, the
company is also focused on sourcing new ideas, concepts and creative talent online.
www.sugarfilms.co.uk
Press Contacts:
Franklin Rae
+44 (0) 20 3011 1023
Shereene Witter [email protected]
Safia van der Zwan [email protected]
12 Melcombe Place, London, NW1 6JJ +44 (0) 203 011 1023 www.franklinrae.com
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