Ardern given Mindhouse co-ownership alongside Theroux, Fellows, Strang

Mindhouse Productions’ Arron Fellows, Louis Theroux, Nancy Strang and Sophie Ardern

Independent production company Mindhouse Productions has made its director of production Sophie Ardern a co-owner of the company.

The move sees Ardern become co-owner and company director, joining existing Mindhouse company directors Louis Theroux, Nancy Strang and Arron Fellows.

The company was founded in 2019 by Theroux, Strang and Fellows, and has since grown to a core team of 17.

In that time Mindhouse shows have included Louis Theroux Interviews, the new series of which is currently airing, Gods of Snooker (BBC Two), Joe Wicks: Facing My Childhood (BBC One), The Bambers: Murder at the Farm (Sky Crime), Louis Theroux’s Forbidden America (BBC Two), Sex Actually with Alice Levine (Channel 4) and Eddie Hall: The Beast vs The Mountain (BBC Three).

Upcoming projects include a feature documentary about KSI for Prime Video, documentary series Gods of Tennis for BBC Two and three-part series Lockerbie, a premium documentary for Sky exploring the Lockerbie bombing tragedy.

Ardern has been with Mindhouse since its launch three years ago, having joined from October Films where she worked across a slate of projects for the likes of Prime Video, BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Discovery. She has also worked in head of production and production executive roles for The Ideas Room, Fresh One and Platform Productions amongst others.

Separately, Kate Pumfrey has joined Mindhouse as head of development. Pumfrey joins the company having previously worked for Twenty Twenty, Love Productions, MultiStory Media and Crackit Productions, with credits including David Harewood’s Why Is Covid Killing People of Colour? (BBC One), The Big Flower Fight (Netflix), First Dates (Channel 4), Social Media Murders (ITV2) and The Paras: Men of War (ITV).

Ardern said: “Working with Nancy, Louis and Arron for the past three years has been a joy. Their energy and creativity are infectious; we make a great team and I look forward to growing the company with them.”

Strang said: “Making Sophie a partner in Mindhouse was a no-brainer. She’s a phenomenal director of production, a brilliant colleague, and has been a crucial part of establishing and growing the company from the start. I’m delighted we’re finally able to formally recognise her contribution.”

Theroux added: “Just like a table, Mindhouse has four legs, of which Sophie is one. I realise some tables have three legs, but Mindhouse is not that kind of table. She is an indispensable part of the team, a terrific collaborator, a pleasure to be alongside in the trenches, and a key reason why Mindhouse works as well as it does. It’s only natural she should own part of the company.”