Tony Ayres taps Princess partner

NBCUniversal-backed Australian prodco Tony Ayres Productions (TAP) has hired a Princess Pictures partner/producer as head of development.

Tony Ayres

Andrea Denholm will join TAP principal Tony Ayres next week after finishing up at Princess Pictures tomorrow.

Ayres told C21: “Andrea has been a friend for many years and we were trying to find a way to work together. When I was looking for a head of development, I asked for her advice. Her advice was, ‘hire me,’ which was music to my ears.

“She is great with talent and is one of the most impressive creative producers in the country. We have similar views on the shows we want to make.”

After a happy 10 years at Princess Pictures working with founder Laura Waters, Denholm said she was up for a new challenge, adding: “Tony is a superstar and a beautiful human being. The content he creates and champions reflects his brilliant imagination, curiosity, humour and humanity.

Andrea Denholm

“It’s a privilege to be in his orbit and incredibly exciting to be working with him across TAP’s distinctive and diverse slate of original projects and adaptations.”

Denholm will collaborate with Ayres and TAP development assistants Neil Triffett and Adrian Chiarella. The company’s first projects are expected to be announced next month.

Her producer and executive producer credits include How to Stay Married, Wrong Kind of Black, It’s a Date, The Divorce and 8MMM Aboriginal Radio. She will serve as an exec producer on the second season of Network 10’s How to Stay Married, a coproduction with creator Peter Helliar’s Pablo Pictures, which is in pre-production.

Denholm also serves on the Film Victoria board and is deputy chair of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation.

Ayres launched TAP last year, backed by NBCUniversal International Studios and Matchbox Pictures, after leaving Matchbox. He was an EP on the final series of Matchbox’s Glitch, which he co-created with Louise Fox. Alongside Cate Blanchett and Elise McCredie, this year he co-created Stateless, a drama set in a refugee detention centre, for pubcaster the ABC, on which he also serves as exec producer.