Kudos co-founder Garrett exits

Stephen Garrett, co-founder of Shine Group-owned UK drama producer Kudos, will leave later this year.

Garrett steps back as chairman of the Spooks, Hustle, Life on Mars and The Tunnel producer, a position he took up in 2011 nearly 20 years after co-founding the company together with CEO Jane Featherstone.

He also relinquishes the post of executive chairman of Shine Pictures, which under his tenure has put out titles including Eastern Promises, Salmon Fishing in The Yemen and Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day.

Recently announced projects include crime thriller Blowback, from author Gregory Burke, and the adaptation of acclaimed bestseller The Farm by Tom Rob Smith, in association with BBC Films.

These and future projects will be led solely at Shine Pictures by head of film, Ollie Madden, who has worked closely with Garrett since joining Shine Pictures three years ago.

Shine Pictures and Kudos are currently coproducing the feature Spooks: The Greater Good staring Peter Firth and Kit Harington. Garrett continues as producer on the upcoming project alongside Madden and Featherstone. The film is due for release in 2015.

Garrett said: “I’m leaving behind, in Kudos and Shine Pictures, two vibrant creative businesses that have never been in better shape. It’s been an inspiring ride with Jane and the exceptional team at Kudos and more recently with Ollie at Shine Pictures.”

He didn’t elaborate on his next move but said he was excited about the “blurring of boundaries and the fusion of forms.”

“It’s not really about film or TV or even theatre anymore. It’s just about telling great stories, stories that electrify audiences that unfold on screens which might be the size of a stamp or a six-storey building,” said Garrett. “Addictive hours that are binged in a weekend or drip-fed in tantalising nuggets over months. Scripted content is what I love. It’s endlessly reinventing itself. This feels like a great time to reinvent myself in the scripted space.”

Shine Group CEO, Alex Mahon added: “Stephen is an exceptional producer, a passionate intellectual and thoughtful collaborator. He leaves a great base to build on in our film team, he has been an enduring influence on our scripted business and we wish him the best for the future. After 20 years as part of the wider Group we will miss him.”