EXCLUSIVE: Matchlight, the Scottish production company behind the 2012 BBC Three documentary Russell Brand From Addiction To Recovery, has collapsed.
Insolvency specialists at Quantuma have been appointed to wind down the Glasgow-based producer’s affairs after it was first set up more than a decade ago. It is not known if Matchlight’s demise is coronavirus-related after producer trade body Pact said companies have lost £250M ($312M) as a result of the production shut down.
According to Matchlight’s most recent earnings, filed at Companies House, the company employed 14 people including its directors, Jacqui Hayden and Ross Wilson. Co-founder David Smith was also part of this employee count, but he actually left the company last year to join TV and film investor Screen Scotland as director of screen.
As well as the Russell Brand addition documentary, Matchlight has produced shows including BBC Two’s Darcey Bussell: Dancing To Happiness and two seasons of The Highland Midwife for ViacomCBS network Channel 5. Its most-recent commission was BBC2’s art documentary Titian: Behind Closed Doors.
The company received £100,000 ($124,000) of Screen Scotland development funding last year and had a relationship with nations and regions advisory service Matisse, run by The Garden founder Nick Curwin. It was launched as a joint venture with producer and distributor DCD Media in March 2009, with DCD selling its stake in 2014.
Deadline has approached Matchlight and Quantuma for comment.