Kitty Walshe Exiting Banijay Labels RDF & Remarkable Factual After Eight Years
EXCLUSIVE: Kitty Walshe, the CEO of RDF Group and Your Home Made Perfect producer Remarkable Factual, is exiting after eight years, with the pair of Banijay labels set to merge.
A redundancy consultation process is currently taking place and a number of staff are expected to be laid off, with the newly-merged label badged RDF. Walshe’s decision to leave preceded the merger decision. RDF West MD Jo Scarratt-Jones and London boss Meredith Chambers will remain with the company.
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Walshe joined from Twofour almost a decade ago to shepherd Remarkable Factual before adding Crystal Maze and Only Connect producer RDF to her roster in 2021. Remarkable Factual makes the likes of Your Home Made Perfect, the BBC’s VR format hosted by Angela Scanlon in which technology and innovative architects turn ordinary houses into dream homes.
RDF calls itself “one of the largest UK production companys within Banijay” and has just entered its fourth decade. The label has, however, been hit recently by a double BBC cancellation for stalwart series Eat Well for Less and Shop Well for Less, while it shut down sub-labels Definitely and Little Wonder last year. One source close to the situation described the move as a “casualty of the commissioning crisis,” which has seen broadcasters pull back on spending due to the troubled economy and ad slump. RDF turned over around £23M ($30M) last year, a slight decline on 2021, according to the Broadcast Indie Survey.
A Banijay spokeswoman said: “We have been reviewing the structure of RDF and Remarkable Factual over the past 12 months and have made the decision to bring the two businesses together as RDF. Banijay UK is committed to long term growth, and we believe that this structure will provide renewed clarity to the market and make the business stronger, more agile and focused to meet the creative needs of a changing market. Staff have been informed and we are reviewing a new structural proposal with them.”
In a note to staff, Banijay UK boss Patrick Holland called Walshe a “brilliant creative who I had the privilege to commission when I was Controller of BBC2, responsible for new formats like Your Home Made Perfect and Your Body Uncovered.” He said she has left to “embrace her next adventure.”
Walshe added: “Remarkable has always stood for innovative, brave television. I wish Remarkable Factual and RDF the very best for the future and it’s been a privilege to lead them.”
Remarkable’s larger entertainment division, which is helmed by Love Island creator Natalka Znak, remains untouched. The Pointless and The Wall producer is on the brink of relaunching the BBC’s long-awaited reboot of Survivor.
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