28 : 01 : 2010
Twofour voted UK’s Best Independent Production Company at Broadcast Awards 2010
Twofour has been voted the UK’s Best Independent Production Company at a glittering ceremony held at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London last night (27 January). The Broadcast Awards is one of the most prestigious events of the year, recognising and rewarding the UK’s most groundbreaking and successful shows. Twofour beat off competition from some of the biggest players in television including Talkback Thames (X Factor) and Kudos Film and TV (Spooks) to bring home the trophy.
“This is an amazing achievement for Twofour,” said Chief Executive Charles Wace, “and a testament to the talent of the teams we have both in Plymouth and in London. To be recognised for our programme making in this forum is a tremendous vindication of our creativity and our business strategy.”
The Broadcast Award judges said:
“While 2009 has been an annus horribilis for many UK Indies, Twofour has come up smelling of roses – thanks to judicious hires, rock-solid regional credentials and a diverse business mix.
“Its television division has found astonishing new levels of success with Five’s Hotel Inspector, which made a virtue out of Ruth Watson’s departure by casting the marvellous Alex Polizzi. Although in the fifth series, Inspector’s most recent run scored its highest ever rating – an impressive 2.6 million average and 11.4% share – and has become one of the most important ratings bankers. The company also sustained steady turnover of high profile commissions from all the key broadcasters ranging from entertainment stalwart Are You Smarter Than A Ten Year Old?, which returned to Sky 1, to blue chip series. In Big Chef Takes On Little Chef Heston Blumenthal drew 4.m viewers and a 17% share fro Channel 4: while in BBC 2’s On Thin Ice Ben Fogle and James Cracknell raced to the South Pole an comfortably won their slot, growing the audience over the series.”
As well as some stellar hirings in its broadcast division Twofour has grown an international high tech digital media business employing a team of over 100 who have developed technology powering webtv broadcasting solutions now used by BBC iPlayer (Twofour provides audio streaming, live and on-demand, for all the BBC’s national and world radio) and by the European Parliament, for whom Twofour created the largest multilingual webtv platform in the world. Twofour is now extending these platforms to support the next generation of mobile devices such as the iPhone and BlackBerry. Twofour also specialises in developing innovative communication and technical solutions for its clients including Volkswagen UK, Pfizer, The British Army, DCSF, Exeter Friendly, BT, Shell and the British Heart Foundation.
The Broadcast Award for Best Independent Production Company recognized not just Twofour’s broadcast achievements but the vital contribution that Twofour’s digital and media communications arm has played in making it the overall winner for 2010.