‘Eli Roth Presents’ Producer Cream Promotes Trio (EXCLUSIVE)

The Only Way is Essex producer Lime Pictures has snapped up one of the highest-profile execs to have left Paramount Global’s UK unscripted arm following its closure.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Marking its first corporate step in international expansion outside Spain, Madrid-based Zeta Studios, producer of “Elite” and “García!” has named Marcelo Tamburri, one of Latin America’s preeminent TV execs, to the newly-created position of director of international content. Spun off from the sale of publishing house Grupo Zeta to Prensa Ibérica in 2019, and rebranded from Zeta Audiovisual, when it comes to individual titles., Zeta Studios boasts one of the biggest international reaches of any production house in Spain.   The appointment comes as Netflix preps the bow of “Elite” Season 7 on Oct. 20, making “Elite” one of the longest-running of streamer series and one of the most successful from outside the U.S., its Seasons 3 and 4 ranking in Netflix’s Top 10 of most-viewed non-English series ever on the OTT service with 334.8 million and 302.2 million hours viewed.   

Charna Flam Saban Films has acquired the rights to Art Camacho’s action thriller “Ruthless” starring Dermot Mulroney and Javier Reyna’s “Palido” starring Kellan Lutz. Saban will distribute the titles throughout North America, the United Kingdom, Germany, Benelux and Australia. Jonathan Saba, CCO of Saban Films, negotiated the deal with Devin Carter, SVP of sales at Premiere Entertainment. “Ruthless” follows a high school coach (Mulroney) who takes matters into his own hands by going after the men who kidnap his female student for their human trafficking operation, according to a snyopsis.

Kinetic Content, it never has been.  Most of the popular unscripted shows today — from “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race” and “American Idol” to “The Bachelor” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” premiered in 2010 or before. The global “reality boom” exploded 25 years ago. In the years to follow, the majority of unscripted content that debuted took off for a moment and later fizzled out.  In fact, in the last 12 years, only four global non-scripted format hits have spawned multiple localized international versions in a foreign language, all while hitting the No. 1 ranking for their platform in their most recent season: “Married at First Sight,” “Love Is Blind,” “The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On” and “The Masked Singer.” 

EXCLUSIVE: British production company Youngest Media, which was behind series including NBC’s Small Fortune and MTV’s Game of Clones, is being revived as a U.S. production company.

Naman Ramachandran Lila Rawlings, head of creative: film and TV at “Roma” filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron’s U.K.-based outfit Esperanto Filmoj, is joining British independent production company Motive Pictures as an executive producer. Rawlings’ remit at Motive will encompass both TV and film projects as the company scales its team in the wake of its first wave of productions, including the Ruth Wilson drama “The Woman in the Wall” for BBC and Showtime. At Esperanto, Rawlings oversaw a slate of projects with Sarah Solemani, Jack Thorne and Charlize Theron and served as executive producer on “The Shepherd,” one in a series of films financed by Disney, directed by Iain Softley and starring John Travolta. Previously, Rawlings was executive producer at Left Bank Pictures where she was responsible for several projects, including “Sitting in Limbo,” a BAFTA- winning drama for BBC One and “Electric Dreams” for Amazon, Sony TV and Channel 4.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte waved to royal crowds on Saturday 17 June as they rode in a carriage with younger brother Prince Louis for the Trooping the Colour.The young royals were joined by mother, Kate Middleton, and Queen Camilla, who is colonel of the Grenadier guards, as they followed behind the King in a carriage. Prince George, nine, and Princess Charlotte, eight, were seen sweetly waving to crowds, with Prince Louis, five, sitting calmly between his two older siblings.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Duncan Heath’s legendary London agency Independent Talent Group is coming off the sales block. Variety understands that the U.K. company has secured a private equity buyer, and that a due diligence period is currently underway. The specific private equity firm involved in the deal isn’t currently known, though sources indicate that a well-known and respected entertainment executive is involved in the outfit. Sources tell Variety that CAA was at one point talking to Independent Talent, but that the U.S. agency — which acquired ICM Partners for $750 million last year — pulled away from a sales conversation in recent months. Other interested parties that have been in the mix in the last year are believed to include WME and Wasserman.

ITV has said that it is “actively exploring” a potential £1B ($1.3B) deal to acquire All3Media, the UK super-producer behind The Traitors.

EXCLUSIVE: The BBC is making a film about a young British aid worker killed in the line of fire in Ukraine.

Loose Women's Denise Welch is set to play Queen Elizabeth II in an upcoming Princess Diana musical, named Diana the Musical. The 65 year old is no stranger to acting, having starred in Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and Waterloo road during her lengthy career. The concert version of Diana the Musical will see an older Diana both narrating and reflecting back on her life and that of her 19-year old self, played in two parts, by Kerry Ellis (Wicked, Anything Goes) and Maiya Quansah-Breed (original cast member of Six).

Diana: The Musical is headed to the West End and will star Loose Women panellist Denise Welch as Queen Elizabeth II as she makes a return to the theatre.

is gearing up for a supersized seventh season, and stars Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan promise it's every bit worth the wait.«It's probably the biggest we've done since season 1,» Heughan told ET's Will Marfuggi of the anticipated season, which kicks off Friday. «A lot of water has gone under the bridge since that first season. But this one is tying up a lot of loose ends.

Elizabeth Hurley celebrated turning the big 5-8 by rocking an itsy-bitsy string bikini. The British model, actress and swimwear designer, who celebrated her birthday on June 10, took to Instagram and shared a photo of herself jumping for joy while at the beach. The star wore a sapphire-hued two-piece, featuring a triangle top with silver sequins and matching side-tie bottoms.

There’s new blood at the top of Fremantle UK’s Too Hot to Handle co-producer Thames and The Apprentice maker Naked.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he “eliminated” his feelings of grief following the deaths of his brother and father. In new three-part Netflix documentary Arnold, the 75-year-old actor discusses his journey to stardom and talks about his home and family life. Speaking about his childhood, the Austrian-born former bodybuilder described this period as being marred by a “strange violence”.

EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4’s top executives have indefinitely deferred their six-figure loyalty bonuses amid a revolt from producers, who have voiced dismay at the British broadcaster pleading poverty as senior leaders pocket record pay packets.

It’s official! Delilah Belle Hamlin and Henry Eikenberry made their red carpet debut at the Thursday, June 1, premiere of The Crowded Room.

Marcus Plantin, a British TV executive best known as ITV’s first Network Director and as a producer on The Two Ronnies, has died aged 77.

EXCLUSIVE: Viacom International Studios’ (VIS) former talent boss has landed the top talent job at Married at First Sight UK producer CPL Productions.