CHF Media president exits

The president and co-founder of UK-based production outfit Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick (CHF) Media Group has left the company.

Exit: Francis Fitzpatrick (centre)

Francis Fitzpatrick stepped down from the role on June 4 to pursue other opportunities, CHF said.

Fitzpatrick, a co-creator of the animated series Jakers, no longer has any day-to-day responsibilities with the Manchester-based company, however, he will remain a shareholder.

Jenny Johnstone, CHF’s head of business development, has been appointed to fill Fitzpatrick’s role and oversee the company’s licensing and merchandizing output.

Fitzpatrick formed CHF in 2011 alongside UK animation veterans Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall, who previously ran the legendary Manchester studio Cosgrove Hall Productions.

Cosgrove Hall was wound down by its parent company ITV in 2009, having produced classic series such as the original Dangermouse and Wind in the Willows during the 1980s.

CHF, meanwhile, has recently produced Pip Ahoy!, the children’s animated series broadcast in the UK on Channel 5 and Cartoonito and RTÉ in Ireland.

Among those on its board are UK actor Sir David Jason OBE, who voiced the titular character in Cosgrove Hall’s Dangermouse.