ITVS Oz grows Garden partnership

ITV Studios (ITVS) Australia and fellow ITVS company The Garden have entered into a co-development partnership to work on a number of programmes for Aussie broadcasters.

David Mott

The Garden (24 Hours in A&E) will work alongside the Australian arm of parent company ITV Studios to develop several fixed rig programme ideas, with a view to enter production in 2017.

Dragonfly founders Nick Curwin and Magnus Temple founded The Garden in 2010 before selling it to ITV for £18m in 2013.

David Mott, CEO of ITV Studios Australia, said: “The Garden’s reputation precedes them as Nick and Magnus essentially pioneered the rig show, for which there is now a considerable demand.

“The current Australian market is primed for such a show and this partnership will make us market leaders in a whole new genre here.”

The Garden’s format Keeping the Nation Alive has been remade in nine countries including Finland, Denmark and France, as well as Australia.

Last month, ITVS Australia announced it is producing Hell’s Kitchen for Channel Seven, with chef Marco Pierre White fronting the show.

C21 revealed in the same month that US cablenet MSNBC is to broadcast a local version of Saved, which was originally made by The Garden.