UK: Ricochet Entertainment

Ricochet Entertainment
Brighton, UK
www.ricochet.co.uk

MD Nick Powell founded Ricochet in 1995 after working freelance as series editor of Channel 4's Right to Reply, a popular British show where viewers expressed criticisms directly to broadcasters. Based in London and Brighton, and with offices in LA, Ricochet is now one of Britain's leading independent television production companies. Its programs, which include Nigella Bites, No Going Back, Selling Houses, How Not To Decorate, and Supernanny, have been broadcast by major networks in both the UK and the US.

Ricochet has made a name for itself by filming everyday activities - nannies, decorating, real estate and cooking shows, for example - and turning them into something inescapably watchable. Powell tells ABC that some of his best ideas come from simply observing the world around him. When he had three children under the age of five, he noticed there was no primetime network show about the chaos of family life. He dreamed up a series with a tough-love nanny heroine who would come to the rescue of parents with out-of-control children.

In November 2005, Shed Productions, the London-based producer of Footballer's Wives and Bad Girls, bought Ricochet for £25 million (US$44 million), with £5 million ($8.8 million) in shares payable conditional upon performance over the next year. Powell said in a statement at the time, "Shed is admired throughout the industry for their creative talent and strong management. The opportunity of joining them was irresistible."

Recent titles: Supernanny, It's Me or the Dog
Employees: 100
Hours this year: 40-plus