Question Time indie retires managing director role
Celia Taylor is leaving Mentorn Media and her managing director role has been retired, as super-indie owner Tinopolis is forced to make Coronavirus-induced savings.
A Tinopolis spokeswoman told Broadcast that Taylor’s role is being scrapped “to counter the effects of the pandemic on our business and revenue”.
Responsibility for the Question Time producer will be handed to Tinopolis director of content Chris Brogden.
Mentorn’s other staffers include director of programmes Tayte Simpson, factual head Bernie Kay and current affairs chief Nicolai Gentchev.
Former Sky non-scripted boss Taylor has been running the outfit since late-2017, when she took over from Jonathan Hewes, who subsequently focused solely on Tinopolis factual label Pioneer Productions.
Mentorn has since landed a reboot of Fox format Paradise Hotel (co-produced with US indie 495 Productions), although that show was cancelled after just one series.
Its Scotland office has also won factual orders from the BBC Scotland channel and BBC4.
Broadcast understands the indie has recently landed a big-budget order from Discovery’s fledgling SVoD.
“Across the Tinopolis Group companies, we’re looking at ways to make savings, to counter the effects of the pandemic on our business and revenue,” said the Tinopolis spokeswoman.
“We’re very grateful to Celia for her hard work over the last three years, and, in particular, for helping us to navigate an especially difficult time over the last six months.”
Prior to Mentorn, Taylor headed up non-scripted programming for Sky over seven years, during which time she was responsible for big-hitting unscripted shows such as A League of Their Own and An Idiot Abroad. She is a former BBC commissioning editor.
Welsh-based super-indie Tinopolis also owns the likes of Firecracker Films, Sunset + Vine and Daybreak Pictures, along with US indies A Smith & Co and Magical Elves.
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