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Channel 4 has ordered a "Grand Designs for gardens" series from indie Red House.
Landscape Man is the brainchild of John Silver, who produced the first five series of the upmarket property series while
he was at Talkback Thames.
The 6 x 60-minute series will be fronted by Matthew Wilson, head of gardens creative development at the Royal Horticultural
Society, in his first C4 presenting role.
Wilson has already spent six months with six families hoping to realise their visions for bold and ambitious landscape
designs.
The ambitious designs are up to 15 acres in size and are all on the designers' private land. Each family is providing
their own funding.
The series will follow a full year in each design and will be broadcast in the summer.
It was ordered by C4 deputy head of features Walter Iuzzolino. Silver will executive produce and the series editor is
Simon Bisset.
(Article in BROADCAST February 2009)
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SILVER LAUNCHES RED HOUSE
John Silver, the former Shine executive responsible for Masterchef, has set up a production company in partnership with
super-indie Zodiak Television Group.
Red House will be based in West Kensington after the Swedish company took a minority stake in the business. It will focus
on creating popular features and factual entertainment formats.
Silver said working with Zodiak would give Red House a kickstart as it launched. "I spoke to a lot of big players,
but Zodiak will give me the right balance of autonomy and support. I can have the support of their lawyers and business people
and of Diverse Productions which they own, and who are right next door. I make big shows, and didn't want to be trying to
get commissions like Masterchef from my front room," he said.
Red House's first appointment is Silver's former colleague at Shine, Simon Bisset, as head of development. He was series
producer of Paradise or Bust (BBC2) and Build a New Life in the Country (Five) and was Bafta-nominated as director of Grand
Designs (C4).
Silver left Shine after four years as creative director of Features at the end of 2007. He was previously Head of Factual
at Talkback.
(Article in BROADCAST March 2008)
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