EXCLUSIVE: New Pictures co-founder and chief operating officer Richard Nelson is leaving the Catherine The Great producer after more than five years.
Nelson joined New Pictures in 2014 and is listed as the company’s co-founder alongside Charlie Pattinson, Elaine Pyke, and Willow Grylls. He played an important role in New Pictures’ sale to All3Media in a £40M ($52M) deal in 2015.
Nelson, a chartered accountant, will be replaced by the drama producer’s head of finance, Wendy Pearce. Pearce joined New Pictures in 2017 after working at other All3Media indies, including North One and Company Pictures.
Nelson previously worked with Pattinson and Grylls for 13 years as director of finance at The White Princess producer Company Pictures. Before that, he was a finance manager within the drama unit at BBC Studios.
Helen Mirren’s Catherine The Great was the latest big-budget show to come out of HBO and Sky’s co-production deal. New Pictures’ upcoming slate includes White House Farm for ITV, starring Stephen Graham, as well as British political drama Cobra for Sky, featuring Robert Carlyle.