BBC Studios invests in fledgling UK factual outfit Samphire Films
Samphire Films’ David Hodgkinson and Sophie Leonard
BBC Studios (BBCS) has taken a minority stake in UK-based Samphire Films, the production company founded last year by Sophie Leonard and David Hodgkinson, to support its rapid growth and global expansion.
Samphire Films was founded in 2024 by Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test and Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action creator Sophie Leonard and BBC Documentaries commissioning editor David Hodgkinson.
Prior to co-founding Samphire Films, Leonard was creative director at Minnow Films, where she exec produced over 200 hours of primetime, premium factual television.
Hodgkinson, meanwhile, was a commissioning editor at BBC Documentaries where he led a push into the limited series space with a raft of high-profile commissions including Lucan, as well as developing new constructed factual formats.
Previously he was creative director at Blast Films overseeing series including Liverpool Narcos (Sky Documentaries) and Missing Dead or Alive (Netflix).
Financial details of BBCS’ investment were not disclosed. Samphire Films was supported by Hasham Khan of ABP Advisory and Peter Weiss at SMB.
Targeting buyers on both sides of the Atlantic, Samphire Films is in production on yet-to-be-announced large-scale factual-formats and premium documentary projects for buyers in both the UK and US.
BBCS will support Samphire’s growth plans for new documentary and constructed factual brands, taking first look global distribution and format rights.
The investment sees BBCS continue to back creative talent and builds on its existing minority investments and ownership portfolio of indies and labels such as House Productions, Clerkenwell Films, Sid Gentle Films and Voltage.
Kate Ward, MD for factual productions at BBCS, said: “Sophie and David are the next generation of creative leaders and we are excited to be backing great British talent.
“They have a proven track record in delivering ambitious and compelling unscripted television spanning premium documentary to globally renowned factual-formats.
“Investing in Samphire, which in such a short space of time has built a slate that speaks both to their global ambitions as well as their extraordinary creative breadth was irresistible. We can’t wait to have them as part of the family at BBC Studios and look forward to a hugely productive partnership.”
Leonard and Hodgkinson said in a joint statement: “We’ve seen huge demand for our ideas and production expertise from both the US and the UK and sought the right strategic partner to allow us to rapidly scale the business in response.
“We’re working with leading creative and commercial talent, building a forward-thinking production company to deliver groundbreaking programming that resonates with audiences globally. BBC Studios shares our commitment to innovation and creative excellence, and we can’t wait to see what we can achieve together.”
