Wednesday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

Doctor Who Christmas special cancelled

The BBC has pulled the plug on the Doctor Who Christmas special and will put future series of the hit sci-fi series out to competitive tender.

The instalment was intended as a follow up to the finale of the 15th series in which Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor regenerated into Billie Piper. Its cancellation comes alongside news that Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf, which has produced Doctor Who alongside BBC Studios since 2023, will exit the show.

Last year, the corporation committed to maintaining future series of the iconic franchise following Disney’s exit from its landmark partnership with the BBC. Details of the tender are yet to be announced but the tender is to come in 2026. Read more

Australia’s Fortitude Valley to be sold by DCD

UK-based distributor DCD Rights has picked up sales rights to Australian drama Fortitude Valley.

The crime thriller has been commissioned by the ABC and will star Rupert Everett (Rivals), alongside Hunter Page-Lochard (Reckless) and Kat Stewart (Offspring).

Written, created and executive produced by Moving Floor Entertainment co-founders Stephen M Irwin and Leigh McGrath (Harrow), along with Hunter Page-Lochard, the 6 x 60-minute series is set in Brisbane and explore family secrets.

Sian Davies (Black Snow) is director, with the show produced by Andrew Walker (Deadloch) and co-produced by Ross Allsop (The Artful Dodger) with executive producer Greg Sitch (Fisk). Screen Australia and Screen Queensland support production.

SPT names head of non-fiction

Sony Pictures Television has upped Devon Hammonds to become head of non-fiction, taking on the remit after the exits of Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman.

Hammonds was most recently exec vice president of business development and strategy but will now lead documentary and reality projects for SPT, as well as talkshows and competition series On Brand With Jimmy Fallon.

The move follows Katherine Pope taking on oversight of SPT’s non-fiction output, with gameshows remaining under Suzanne Prete.

Hammonds’ purview extends to SPT-owned labels such as Idol producer 19 Entertainment and 90 Day Fiancé firm Sharp Entertainment.

Got Talent: Fantasy League heads to Spain

Mediaset España is to adapt America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League following the show’s debut on NBC in 2024.

Fremantle Spain will produce the talent show format, with Santi Millán hosting, and Paula Echevarría, Carlos Latre, Lorena Castell and Xuso Jones as judges.

The format sees the quartet evaluating performances and building the best possible team by choosing their favourite artists. A second phase sees their teams of six contestants competing against each other for victory.

Telecinco has aired 11 seasons of its remake of the original Got Talent format since 2016. The last season averaged fewer than 900,000 viewers.

Paramount’s WBD approved in Australia

Competition authorities in Australia and New Zealand have approved Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.

The David Ellison-led company said that regulators in European countries including Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Ukraine, Serbia and Czechia had also given their greenlights to the deal.

Broader European Union approval is yet to be given, while the UK launched its Phase 1 enquiry into the acquisition on Tuesday, with a decision over progression to a Phase 2 investigation set to be made by 7 August.

UK’s STV rebrands drama unit

STV Studios scripted label STV Studios Drama has rebranded to Blackhill.

The company, which is known for dramas The Witness (Netflix), the BBC’s Elizabeth is Missing and Channel 4’s prison series Screw, has updated its brand to ‘reflect the evolution of their output and identity’, according to a press statement.

The name Blackhill is inspired by the TV transmitting station that has carried stories across Scotland for generations. The producer has offices in both Glasgow and London and makes scripted television for UK and international audiences. Read more