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Press Releases
Jon Beazley and Karen Smith take top entertainment jobs at ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Vision Studios
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Jon Beazley is to take the top job in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ entertainment production as
Controller, Entertainment Group for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Vision Studios, with Karen Smith becoming Creative Director of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Entertainment Production, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Chief Creative
Officer Peter Salmon announced today.
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In the first major appointments to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Vision Studios, Jon, currently the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s
Controller of Entertainment Commissioning, will lead a creative community of
about 500 and a business with a turnover over of £50m a year.
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He will report
directly to Peter and sit on the Vision Studios Board.
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Jon will also work
closely with ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Scotland on their growing portfolio and ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Worldwide to grow
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Entertainment's increasingly successful international format sales
business.
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Karen is currently the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s Creative Head of Format Entertainment.
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In her new role she will report to Jon, leading and aligning production and
development across the Entertainment brand working closely with multi-media
commissioning and building on the heritage and success of Entertainment output
in the context of the new ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Vision model.
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Peter Salmon said: "This is very significant for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Vision. Jon is one of the
UK's most accomplished entertainment producers and commissioners, and Karen is
one of the industry's rising stars.
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"Together they will be a double act that can
help lead one of the entertainment world's best teams that produces some of
TV's biggest hits - shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, Dragons' Den and How
Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?
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"They will also help drive our new push into multi-platform production and
games, and they will build great ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ ideas into entertainment formats that can
flourish around the world, bringing income back to the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½."
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Jon Beazley said: "To leave Commissioning for Production was a difficult choice
but after five years in Entertainment Commissioning as both Executive Editor
and Controller, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Vision's Entertainment Studio presents enormously exciting
opportunities; Entertainment's current range of distinctive programming and the
desire to initiate valuable content across all multimedia platforms was just
too tempting.
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"I am thrilled to be steering Entertainment Production and look
forward to close collaboration with the talented programme makers across the
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ and with ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Worldwide."
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Jon is due to take up his role before Christmas and Karen will start in
January.
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Jana Bennett, Director of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Vision, said: "Jon has made a fantastic impact on
the Independent sector and in-house production as Controller of Entertainment
Commissioning - revitalising Saturday nights with huge hits like Strictly Come
Dancing and How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, and commissioning exciting
shows such as Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, The Apprentice and Dragons' Den.
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"I'm so pleased that Jon will be heading up Entertainment Production, because
he'll bring all that expertise, and his vast knowledge of the channels,
commissioners and schedules, to his new role and Karen is destined for great
things in the Entertainment world.
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"Peter's announcements today mark an
important first step for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Vision Studios and another milestone in the
building of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Vision."
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With nearly 5,000 programme-makers throughout the UK across drama,
entertainment, comedy and factual, learning and children's programmes,
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Vision Studios will be the biggest integrated multimedia production group
in the world when it launches on 1 January 2007.
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Biographies
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Jon Beazley has commissioned and produced some of the highest profile
entertainment shows in British television.
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As Commissioner he has been
responsible for Strictly Come Dancing, Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, Sport
Relief, Bafta Film Awards, The Apprentice, House Of Tiny Tearaways, Just The
Two Of Us and all National Lottery shows including Jet Set, In it to Win It
and 1 vs 100.
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Jon has been Controller of Entertainment Commissioning since October 2005,
responsible for commissioning all entertainment programming from both in-house
producers and the independent sector including Format and Factual
Entertainment, Comedy Entertainment and Events and Specials including Children
in Need and Comic Relief.
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He was previously Executive Editor in Commissioning
on a range of Independent and In-House Programming including the ground-breaking interactive ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ One hit Test The Nation, Friday Night With Jonathan
Ross, Graham Norton's Bigger Picture, Jack Dee Live At The Apollo and acts for
the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ in its relationship with bodies such as Bafta, Comic Relief and
Camelot.
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Jon's earliest production roles for the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ were in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Manchester and then in
London on the live chat show Wogan.
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He then became assistant producer for Bruce
Forsyth's Generation Game, Entertainment USA, Comic Relief, Noel Edmonds'
Saturday Roadshow, The Olivier Awards and The Brits.
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Jon produced Noel's House Party from 1993 to 1996, winning recognition from
Montreux Rose D'Or and a Bafta TV nomination. He also Produced Jim Davidson's
Generation Game for two years.
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In 1997 be became Editor, Mainstream
Entertainment with responsibility for The Other Half, National Lottery Stars,
the Bafta TV And Film Awards and also continued as Executive Producer on titles
such as Lenny Henry Goes To Town.
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Karen Smith is currently Creative Head of Format Entertainment at the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, the
department which produces Strictly Come Dancing, Strictly Dance Fever, Just The
Two Of Us, Jet Set, Weakest Link, Question Of Sport, The House Of Tiny
Tearaways, Sudo-q and Never Mind The Full Stops.
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Karen joined the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ in
October 2003 as Executive Producer of Strictly Come Dancing, winning many awards
including a Rose D'or, an RTS, a Broadcast award, plus two Bafta nominations.
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In July 2004 Karen became Editor and went on to make Strictly Dance Fever,
Strictly Ice Dancing, Strictly African Dancing, Just The Two Of Us, Hard Spell,
Star Spell and the VE Day Special, We'll Meet Again.
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Karen was formerly Editor of ITV1's This Morning and Series Producer of Comic
Relief Does Fame Academy for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ One, as well as The Games for Channel 4. Ìý
JB3/ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Press Office
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