Temple to leave ITV Studios’ Garden

Magnus Temple, CEO and co-founder of ITV Studios-owned The Garden, is set to leave the UK production company behind 24 Hours in A&E after more than a decade.

Magnus Temple

John Hay and Nicola Hill are moving up to become joint CEOs of the London-based firm when Temple steps down in June. The pair have worked alongside Temple over the past three years as MD and chief creative officer respectively.

Temple will remain with the company for several months in a consultancy role and to see through ongoing projects.

Temple hired Hay and promoted Hill after he took sole charge of the company following co-founder Nick Curwin’s departure in 2017.

They have also established The Garden’s base in Leeds and set up a company talent fund to give people from under-represented backgrounds their first insight into directing, edit producing, line producing and senior producing.

John Hay

Meanwhile, Nicola Brown, who joined The Garden from Channel 4 as director of programmes just over a year ago, has been promoted to creative director.

The company is currently producing two series fronted by Simon Reeve for BBC2 and is editing a season of Channel 4’s long-running fixed-rig observational doc 24 Hours in A&E shot during the pandemic.

Later this year it will deliver new episodes of 24 Hours in Police Custody and has also been commissioned to make a major new medical format for Channel 4, shooting this summer.

From the autumn, The Garden’s Leeds office will become the new home of 24 Hours in A&E and another new popular factual format, which will be announced at a later date.

This year will also see the launch of its first US series, a Kansas-based version of Police Custody for Discovery and Channel 4.

Nicola Hill

Temple founded The Garden with Curwin in 2010. During his 11 years at the helm, the company made its mark by creating the iconic 24 Hours brand as well as factual entertainment formats like The Audience and 10,000 BC, plus critically acclaimed documentary series like the Bafta-winning Bedlam.

Temple said: “I love this company. The Garden is like family to me. But it’s been 11 years, in which time my own family have almost grown up and I’d like to spend more time with them before they disappear.

“It’s going to be a wrench but I’m so pleased to be able to leave the company in the brilliant hands of Nicola and John, who have been instrumental in the success of the last few years.”