Amelia Brown to step down as MD of Thames to set up production outfit

Amelia Brown, managing director at Fremantle-owned Thames, is leaving the Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor producer after 20 years to set up her own production company.

Amelia Brown

Brown will step down in July, working with Thames and Fremantle to ensure a smooth transition, the company said. Details about Brown’s new indie are not yet known.

After joining in 2003 as a freelancer and then on a permanent basis in 2013, Brown was made MD in 2017 and has been a key creative on almost every season of Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor in series producer and executive producer roles.

Fremantle said she has also been instrumental in strengthening Thames’ slate of programming and has led the expansion of the label into the world of reality television and factual entertainment.

Thames has made shows including Too Hot To Handle for Netflix, a coproduction with fellow Fremantle label Talkback; I Can See Your Voice, The Greatest Dancer and Blankety Blank for BBC One; and Game of Talents and Family Fortunes for ITV under Brown’s leadership.

The exec leaves Thames with several commissions underway, including Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream for ITV and The Big Celebrity Detox for E4.

Brown said: “After years of dreaming of setting up my own company, now is the time to make that leap and I want to thank every single person who has helped and supported me over the past twenty years.”

Simon Andreae, CEO at Fremantle UK, added: “Amelia is one of the very best in the business, and we are incredibly sad to see her go. She has led Thames through huge success on our genre-defining talent show hits and has been responsible for expanding the label’s slate whilst also building relationships with new broadcasters and streamers.

“While we’re very sad to see her go, we’ve been aware for a while that one day she would want to start her own company. Now that the day has come, we are excited and fully supportive of her and wish her all the best for the future.”