STV Group PLC STV PRODUCTIONS' SAFEWORD RECOMMISSIONED

TIDMSTVG

STV Group PLC

12 February 2016

   PRESS RELEASE                 PRESS RELEASE                 PRESS RELEASE 

ITV2 RECOMMISSIONS STV PRODUCTIONS' AND GROUPM ENTERTAINMENT'S SAFEWORD

12 February 2016

ITV has commissioned STV Productions, with co-production partners GroupM Entertainment, to make a second series of popular ITV2 comedy panel show, Safeword.

Rick Edwards (Free Speech, The Paralympic Games Breakfast Show, Tool Academy) returns as host for the ITV2 series, joined by team captains Katherine Ryan (Bring the Noise, Hair, Lip Sync Battle UK) and David Morgan (I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! Now!, Xtra Factor, Virtually Famous). The six 45 minute episodes will start filming in March.

Outrageous and laugh-out-loud entertaining, Safeword sees two teams, made up of a celebrity guest and two comedians, go head to head in a competitive 'roast' format. The celebrities must endure having their public profiles scrutinised and their social media accounts hijacked in real time, as the rival panel pokes around their personal and professional lives, posting shocking updates to legions of fans on their behalf. The only thing that can help the celebrities is using their chosen Safeword to make it all stop.

The show hit the headlines last summer after featuring contestants including Katie Price, I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here winner Vicky Pattison and 80's pop sensation Sinitta.

Gary Chippington, Head of Entertainment at STV Productions, said: "It's great to be working with ITV on another series of Safeword and we look forward to bringing viewers more unsafe comedy from Rick, Katherine and David as our teams are let loose on each other again."

Tony Moulsdale, Director of Programming, GroupM Entertainment said: "We are really pleased to see this ruthlessly funny and unforgiving comedy panel show coming back to ITV2 for a second series."

Claire Zolkwer, Commissioning Editor, Comedy and Entertainment for ITV said: "The innate sense of mischief that Rick, Katherine and David bring to the show makes Safeword a must see, jaw dropping series that we so love on ITV2."

The ITV2 recommissioning of Safeword is just one outcome of the strategic development partnership between STV Productions and GroupM Entertainment announced in August, coupling the two companies to co-invest, co-develop and co-produce ideas across a broad range of genres.

The focus of the successful partnership has been to create new entertainment, factual and drama projects targeted at major broadcasters in the UK and internationally.

The partners recently extended their financial support following the success of the partnership so far.

Red Arrow International distributes the Safeword format worldwide (excluding UK and US).

Safeword was ordered by Angela Jain, ITV's Director of Digital Platforms and commissioned by Claire Zolkwer, ITV Commissioning Editor, Comedy Entertainment.

Executive Producer for STV Productions is Gary Chippington, Head of Entertainment and for GroupM Entertainment is Abigail Adams.

Ends

For further information, please contact:

STV Productions:

Richard Holligan

0141 300 3416

[e-mail]

Anna Hendry

0141 300 3830

[e-mail]

GroupM Entertainment:

David Grabert,

[phone]

[e-mail]

NOTES TO EDITORS

STV Productions

STV Productions is one of the UK's leading content businesses with ambitious plans for growth both domestically and internationally.

The company has a record of success across a range of genres including drama, entertainment and factual for a wide range of broadcasters. Ratings winner Antiques Road Trip has run for twelve series on the BBC, with a further five series of sister programme Celebrity Antiques Road Trip also produced. In entertainment, the company produces Catchphrase for ITV, Safeword for ITV2, The Link for BBC Daytime and The Lie for STV, TV3 in Ireland and S4C in Wales.

Specialist factual successes have included Tutankhamun: The Truth Uncovered for BBC1 and Swallowed By The Sea - Ancient Egypt's Greatest Lost City for BBC2. Documentaries have been another strong growth area. Fire in the Night, a feature documentary to mark the 25(th) anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster, won a BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Single Documentary and the Audience Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Since then we have produced The Lockerbie Bombing for the Smithsonian Channel in the US and ITV, The 7/7 Bombing: Survivors' Stories for ITV, Rollermania for BBC Scotland and BBC4, and Prison: First and Last 24 hours, an 8 hour series for Sky1. Coming soon is Dunblane: Our Story for BBC2.

STV Productions has a track record of producing quality returnable drama series including Taggart and Rebus and intends to build on this solid reputation. In the last five years it has produced Fast Freddie and The Poison Tree, both for ITV. It currently has script commissions from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.

STV Productions has a partnership with Red Arrow International which co-invests in and co-develops projects as well as distributes STV Productions' completed programmes and formats, outside the UK.

GroupM Entertainment

GroupM Entertainment is a global content investment and rights management company, which creates, finances, produces, distributes & commercializes content via innovative, strategic, commercial models & partnerships. GME's global business interests extend across all media platforms and a broad range of genres in partnership with some of the world's leading production and distribution talent. GME is part of GroupM, the world's leading full-service media investment management operation, a WPP company.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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February 12, 2016 05:10 ET (10:10 GMT)