MARTIN HAINES
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Martin joined Kudos as Chief Operating Officer from Warner Bros. Television where he was Commercial Director of the UK television production group for 3 years. In March 2019, Martin was appointed as joint Managing Director.
Martin is responsible for the strategic direction of Kudos and oversees all production, finance, commercial and business affairs and operational functions of the company. Previously Martin was a partner in a leading Entertainment Law practice.
KAREN WILSON
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Karen joined Kudos in 2001 to script edit Spooks Series 1 and 2 (BBC One), Hustle (BBC One) and then went on to produce Hustle Series 2. Karen then became an Executive Producer, working alongside BAFTA and Olivier award winning directors and writers on series including Hustle, Spooks, Scars (Channel 4), Holby Blue (BBC One), The Doctor Who Hears Voices (Channel 4), Spooks: Code 9 (BBC 3), Utopia (Channel 4) and The Tunnel (Sky Atlantic). In March 2019, Karen was appointed as joint Managing Director.
Karen’s television career began at World Productions where she worked as a Drama Development Assistant to Tony Garnett. After two years, Karen left World Productions to begin her freelance career with dramas including This Life (BBC), Undercover Heart (BBC) and City Central (BBC). Karen then joined Thames Television as a script editor for The Bill (ITV) and two years later joined the BBC’s Drama Department script editing Murder in Mind, along with various other development projects.
PHIL TEMPLE
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Phil Temple joined Kudos as Executive Producer after spending four years as Development Producer / Head of Development at Carnival, where he worked on shows such as ‘The Last Kingdom’ (BBC and BBC America), ‘Stan Lee’s Lucky Man’ (Sky One), and the BAFTA and RTS Award winning drama for ITV ‘The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies’.
Before that he worked as Creative Executive, Drama and Comedy at NBC Universal International, after spending 5 years at BBC Drama Production where he helped support the department’s development slate as Development Executive. During this time he also script edited a number of projects, most notably ‘Five Daughters’, the three part serial which won Best Drama Serial at the RTS Awards and the Special Prix Europa Prize. It was also nominated for three BAFTA awards and Best Drama Documentary at the Grierson Awards.
Phil’s first job after graduating from Goldsmiths’ College was at ICM (now Independent Talent Group), as an assistant to one of the UK’s leading literary agents. He worked there for almost seven years in which time he helped manage the careers of some of the UK’s most successful writers and directors, before leaving to work at the BBC.
EMMA KINGSMAN-LLOYD
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Emma joined the in house team at Kudos as an Executive Producer on Humans series 3.
As a Producer, Emma worked on many varied projects including two series of DCI Banks, Life of Crime starring Hayley Atwell and Richard Coyle, Flowers, MI High, Nearly Famous starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lip Service and Sweeney Todd starring Ray Winstone.
Emma started her career as a script editor at LWT working on London’s Burning before moving to Bentley Productions as Head of Development and script editing Ultimate Force and Midsomer Murders.
Emma has produced several series for Kudos including three series of Grantchester starring James Norton and Robson Green.
KATIE MCALEESE
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Katie joined Kudos from Big Light, where she built the company’s first slate of original development. She was previously Executive Producer at BBC Wales Drama, where her projects included The Living And The Dead for BBC1 and BBC America. She first joined the BBC as Creative Director, Drama Production, charged with overseeing all inhouse development and heading up the central development team. During this time she also executive produced the second series of Dominic Mitchell’s award-winning In the Flesh for BBC3.
Before moving to the BBC, Katie was part of the small team which launched Lookout Point. During her time as Head of Development there, she developed projects including Ripper Street for BBC1 and Titanic for ITV.
Katie started her career working in theatre, directing new writing and classics in the West End and across the UK.
SUE SWIFT
HEAD OF BOOKS AND ADAPTATION
Sue joined Kudos in 2009 to bring in outstanding material from the world of books. Recent book-based Kudos productions include APPLE TREE YARD, an adaptation of Louise Doughty’s powerful adult thriller for the BBC, starring Emily Watson and Ben Chaplin; the much-loved ITV crime series GRANTCHESTER, starring James Norton and Robson Green, soon to return for its fourth series. And coming to ITV next year is the six-part female-led emotional thriller DEEP WATER, based on the bestselling Windermere novels of Paula Daly.
After an early career in print journalism, then as editorial director of a magazine publishing company, Sue became Literary Adviser to the UK Film Council, and Head of Literary Acquisitions at Material Entertainment, before joining Kudos.
ALISON BARNETT
HEAD OF PRODUCTION
Alison joined Kudos in 2005 as Head of Production. She oversees the development and delivery of all Kudos projects, reporting to Co MD's Martin Haines and Karen Wilson on the financial control, logistics and all aspects of day to day production.
Alison originally trained as a Stage Manager in theatre and opera. In 1979 she joined the BBC television drama department and left to go freelance in 1985.
Since then Alison has worked on over 400 hours of television.
JAMIE MAYERS
HEAD OF FINANCE
Jamie joined Kudos in 2008 from the BBC as a Senior Production Accountant and took responsibility for overseeing all production finance matters. Having then qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant he took on the roll of Financial Controller before becoming Head of Finance and reporting to the Group Finance team.
Jamie has been involved in television production since leaving University working for Hotbed Media in Birmingham as a production manager for their game shows and documentaries and then working in programme finance at the BBC for 8 years. He has worked on Born & Bred, Silent Witness, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Dalziel & Pascoe, Egypt and Love Soup to name a few and been lucky enough to have worked in South Africa, the Czech Republic and Egypt.
KATE MCCULLAGH
HEAD OF LEGAL AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS
Kate joined Kudos in 2016 and heads up the legal and business affairs team. She has a diverse industry background most recently working at Entertainment One, as Director, Business & Legal Affairs, advising on development, production, financing and distribution of projects.
Prior to eOne, Kate worked at Harbottle & Lewis in the Film, TV & Theatre group and trained as a solicitor at Bird & Bird. She has done secondments at Sony Pictures and Discovery.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Kate spent seven years working in independent production companies.
Kate is a BAFTA member.
SARAH STACK
HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT
Sarah's role is to focus on the origination and development of new projects, growing Kudos’s slate, and attracting the very best creative talent to the UK’s leading scripted indie. Working closely with the senior management team, she develops the creative strategy of the company whilst seeking new commissioning opportunities with UK and international broadcasters and partners.
Before joining Kudos, Stack was Senior Script Executive with BBC Northern Ireland where she managed an extensive slate. Sarah’s role included script editing and executive producing across a range of BBC Dramas including Paula on (BBC 2), Jamaica Inn (BBC 1), and On Expenses (BBC4). She has also initiated and run several new writing programmes and awards including the 360° Script Writing Festival in Belfast and The Tony Doyle Award for television writers.
ANNA MYNOTT
HEAD OF RESOURCES
Anna worked as the Operations Director of Exposure PR, Head of Building services for Framestore CFC and Building Services Manager at M&C Saatchi before joining Kudos in April 2007 as the company’s Head of Resources.
DANI GORDON
HEAD OF POST PRODUCTION
Dani joined Kudos as Post Production Co-ordinator in 2006, and in 2019 she took over as Head of Post Production. Dani works closely with the Head of Production, Executive Producers, Producers, Line Producers and the legal department at every stage from development through to delivery. In this role she oversees all the final post production delivery for UK and International distribution, and is responsible for generating and managing budgets, schedules, technical workflows, logistics and overall post management.
After graduating at York University, Dani’s career in television began as a Producer’s assistant at Witzend Productions in 1991, after which time she worked for the theatrical agency ICM for several years and then returned to production work, where she eventually became a production co-ordinator, working on shows such as Glasgow Kiss, The Cazalets, Bleak House, Spooks series 2, 3 and 5 as well as the first series of Hustle.
HEATHER LARMOUR
DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE
Originally from Northern Ireland, Heather studied at Queen’s University Belfast before gaining an MA and PhD in Eighteenth-Century Literature at the University of Liverpool.
She then joined the BBC Northern Ireland Drama department as a Development and Production Trainee and stayed for 15 years, working as a Radio Drama Production Assistant and then as a Radio Drama Producer.
During her time at the BBC Heather produced numerous dramas and readings for Radio 4, Radio 3, and BBC7 / Radio 4 Extra, including award-winning dramas by Morwenna Banks, Lucy Caldwell, Lucy Gannon, Eoin McNamee and Christine Murphy. She produced Adrian Hodges’ three-part adaptation of John Fowles’ ‘The Magus’ starring Tom Burke, Charles Dance and Hayley Atwell, and a radio dramatisation of Chuck Palahniuk’s cult novel ‘Fight Club’ adapted by Tracey Malone and Ed Whitmore.
Heather also produced and co-directed (with Dirk Maggs) adaptations of Neil Gaiman’s ‘Neverwhere’, ‘How the Marquis got his Coat Back’ and ‘Stardust’ for Radio 4, as well as a dramatisation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s ‘Good Omens’.
After ten years producing radio drama Heather made the move to television, joining Kudos as a Development Executive in June 2017.
SARAH LINTON
DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE
Sarah grew up in Australia where she attended film school at the Queensland College of Art before moving to the UK in 2004.
Before joining Kudos, Sarah worked as a freelance Script Editor on Killing Eve (Sid Gentle Films for BBC America), The Halcyon (Leftbank Pictures for ITV) and Stan Lee’s Lucky Man (Carnival Films for Sky).
Sarah’s TV career began when she joined Carnival Films in 2010 where she worked across a number of productions as Gareth Neame’s assistant before moving into development. During this time Sarah worked across the development slate and script edited series 4 and 5 of Downton Abbey (ITV).
Sarah has also consulted for ABC Studios as their UK Comedy and Drama Scout, where her focus was on identifying and tracking exciting new writing and directing talent.
DONNA HAIGH
FINANCE MANAGER
Donna is Finance Manager at Kudos, having previously worked in the Charitable Sector.
She has always been a passionate consumer of television and has revelled in her role at Kudos.
MICHAEL WILSON
FINANCE MANAGER
Michael joined Kudos in 2018 as Finance Manager (Productions & Reporting) and is responsible for preparing the company’s results, forecasts and budgets as well as monitoring the financial performance of productions.
After graduating from the University of Warwick with a degree in Mathematics (combined with modules in Film Studies), Michael joined PwC as an auditor in 2004. Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant (CA), he then joined Endemol as a Financial Accountant in 2008, later becoming the UK Group Finance Analyst for Endemol Shine. Having worked for Endemol Shine for over 10 years, Michael joins Kudos to be more closely involved with all aspects of productions and the Kudos family of companies.
JADE DEOL
ACCOUNTS ASSISTANT
Jade left school after completing her A-levels in Maths, Economics and Media Studies. She joined the finance team at Kudos in October 2018 as an accounts assistant. Prior to working at Kudos, Jade worked in a similar role within the hospitality industry.
Jade is an avid Film and Television consumer with an interest in furthering her career in finance within Kudos.
CHENELLE OLAIYA
PARALEGAL
Chenelle joined Kudos in November 2019 as part of the legal and business affairs team.
After graduating from Kent with a Law LLB (hons) degree in 2018, Chenelle worked at Universal Pictures International on the distribution, acquisition, and production of Film and TV content within the legal and business affairs department. Chenelle hopes to continue developing her legal and commercial knowledge within the entertainment space.
EMMA MURIE
BUSINESS AFFAIRS EXECUTIVE
Emma joined Kudos in July 2018 as a Legal & Business Affairs Executive.
Prior to this she worked at Hat Trick (including advising on factual programming for Plum Pictures and Emporium Productions) and Lion Television. She trained as a solicitor at SJ Berwin LLP and qualified into the Commerce & Technology department before making a move into the television industry post-qualification.
EMILY HOBAN
BUSINESS AFFAIRS EXECUTIVE
Emily joined Kudos in April 2018 as a Legal & Business Affairs Executive.
Prior to this she worked at Hit Entertainment (part of Mattel) for four years, in the Entertainment Group of the Legal & Business Affairs team, where she trained and qualified as a solicitor.
LILLIE KING
PRODUCTION MANAGER
After graduating in 2010 with a degree in Film & Screen, Lillie started her career working for BBC Studios in Bristol. In 2011, Lillie moved to London and spent the next 5 years freelancing on various productions such as Death in Paradise, Episodes and EastEnders.
Lillie joined the in house production team at Kudos as a Coordinator in November 2016, before taking on her current role as Production Manager.
LEANNA SMITH
PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR AND ASSISTANT TO ALISON BARNETT
After completing a Joint BA Honours degree in Journalism and Broadcasting, Leanna went on to start a career in theatre management and entertainment. Leanna has worked across a range of genres including alternative arts and factual.
She joins the team after three years at Channel 4 News and Current Affairs assisting on award-winning investigative journalism strands.
JASMIN AMBROSE
POST PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR
Jasmin joined Kudos in January 2019 and works alongside Dani Gordon, as the Post Production Coordinator.
Prior to this she worked as the Post Production Coordinator on Holby City for two years. She first joined Kudos in 2014 working as an office runner. She then went on to work on Grantchester, series 2 and Apple Tree Yard as a production Runner and later on the final series of Episodes.
LILLIE DAVIDSON
DEVELOPMENT SCRIPT EDITOR
Lillie graduated with a degree in English from Bristol University in 2016. During her time at university she was a member of the BFI Film Academy, writing and directing short films, and alongside studying she interned with Film4, Wall to Wall, Mammoth Screen and Cling Film. After graduating, Lillie became part of the Creative Development Internship scheme at Endemol, joining Kudos in June 2017.
JESSICA GUMMER
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO MARTIN HAINES AND KAREN WILSON
Jess graduated from The University of Bristol with a degree in Childhood Studies. Before joining Kudos in May 2019, Jess began her career in the television industry as a personal assistant at Endemol Shine International. Jess hopes to continue working in the industry and excelling in her role as an Assistant.
AMY CARROLL
ASSISTANT TO SARAH STACK, SUE SWIFT AND KATIE MCALEESE
Amy graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2013 with a degree in English Literature & Film Studies and went on to study for a Masters degree in Feature Film Production, before working for various arts festivals and as an Extras Coordinator for RTÉ’s ‘Fair City’.
She joined Kudos in November 2018 from Kitson Press Associates, where she worked as an Agent’s Assistant, while freelance script reading for various Film and TV companies.
EMILY GRIMSHAW
ASSISTANT TO PHIL TEMPLE AND EMMA KINGSMAN-LLOYD
After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in Communications and Media. Emily's passion to work within the television industry was further developed on her year abroad to Canada where she studied Film and Television. Prior to joining Kudos, Emily has gained experience working as a production assistant on both commercial sets and theatre productions.
MEGAN LANE
RECEPTIONIST
Megan joined the Kudos team as a Receptionist in March 2019. This is her first experience working for a production company and she is eager to learn more about the Television and Film industry. Previous to her role at Kudos, Megan worked in the Customer Service sector.
In her spare time Megan enjoys portraiture painting, some of which she has had commissioned.
OLIVIA CRITOPH
RUNNER
Olivia graduated from The University of Bristol with a degree in Sociology in 2019. Her interest in TV became apparent while she was at university, when gaining work experience in a production studio, and being part of the university’s TV society.
Olivia thoroughly enjoyed working in both environments and decided that after university she wanted to pursue a career in television. In October she started working as a Runner at Kudos, an environment she is loving working in.
DOMONIC COURTNEY
RUNNER
After graduating from his degree in Philosophy and Politics from the University of Brighton, Dominic decided to move back to London to pursue a career in TV and Film. Before graduating, Dominic began working as a freelance runner in the Entertainment and Factual departments for ITV and VICE respectively.
Dominic joined Kudos in November 2019 and is looking to learn more about the TV and Film industry and pursue a career in Drama.