See-Saw names Gregory creative director

London- and Sydney-based drama producer See-Saw Films has hired seasoned industry exec Helen Gregory as its new creative director.

Helen Gregory

Gregory will start in the newly created position on September 1 and be responsible for steering the creative strategy of the company and the development of its growing television slate.

She will also work with joint CEOs Emile Sherman and Iain Canning on the company’s film strategy.

Based in the company’s London office, she will lead a team of executive producers and report to Canning and Sherman, while working alongside Simon Gillis in his role as chief operating officer (COO).

Gregory joins See-Saw from her company Trapeze Entertainment and was most recently an executive producer on Pulse and Sister Pictures’ season two of Gangs of London for Sky/AMC.

At Trapeze, Gregory set up development projects with the BBC, Netflix and Sky and with actor Jude Law’s production company Riff Raff Entertainment, which she will continue to build at See-Saw.

Before founding Trapeze Entertainment, Gregory was MD of Twelve Town (formerly Pinewood Television) and executive produced The Child In Time, an adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel for BBC1 starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

Other credits include Case Histories, which she executive produced for BBC1, The Enfield Haunting, which she exec produced for Sky Living, Julian Fellowes’ Dr Thorne, which she produced for ITV/Amazon, and Cider with Rosie, which she produced for BBC1.

Gregory’s past executive roles include head of TV at Ruby Film & Television, joint head of drama at World Productions and commissioning editor for drama at Channel 4.

Canning and Sherman said in a statement: “See-Saw is at an exciting juncture, with many returning television series, limited series and films now in production, working across the theatrical, streamer and broadcaster landscape.

“We need a creative director to join us for this next stage of our journey, and are so fortunate to have enticed Helen. She is a truly exceptional creative leader with deep expertise as an executive producer, commissioner and managing director, but most importantly we share a vision for distinctive, original storytelling.”

See-Saw has hired eight new starters over the past year, taking its team to over 30. Forthcoming television projects include The North Water, written and directed by Andrew Haigh; season two of State of the Union, written by Nick Hornby and directed by Stephen Frears; and Heartstopper, created and written by Alice Oseman and directed by Euros Lyn.

It follows the news earlier this year that See-Saw Films’ head of television and TV chief operating officer were leaving the prodco to start a new indie.

Jamie Laurenson set up the firm’s TV division having moved from BBC Films in 2012, with Hakan Kousetta arriving as TV COO two years later.