Zenith Productions (later Zenith Entertainment) was a British independent film and television

production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...

. Zenith created content for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

and

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, trading as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through a join ...

, including a number of series such as ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'' for

and ''

Byker Grove ''Byker Grove'' is a British teen drama and coming of age television series which aired between 1989 and 2006 on BBC One. The show was set in Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne and was filmed in nearby Benwell. It was created by writer Adele Rose a ...

'' and ''

Hamish Macbeth Hamish Macbeth is the police constable of the fictional Scottish Highlands, Scottish Highland town of Lochdubh, in a series of murder mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney). Considered by many to be a useless, lazy moocher, M ...

'' for the BBC. Through its subsidiary Blaze Television, Zenith produced the Saturday morning series ''

SMTV Live ''SMTV Live'' (an abbreviation of ''Saturday Morning Television Live'', and also stylised as ''SM: LIVE'') was a British Saturday morning children's television programme, produced by Blaze Television for ITV. Operating on a similar format to ...

'' and '' CD:UK'' for ITV featuring

Ant & Dec Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo consisting of Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly from Newcastle upon Tyne. After meeting as child actors on CBBC's drama ''Byker Grove'', they performed together as pop musicians PJ & Duncan, ...

. The company ceased trading in 2006. Jason Deans
End of the line for Zenith?
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 30 August 2006
Jason Deans
Zenith goes into administration
''

'', 30 August 2006

History

Zenith was established in 1984 as a subsidiary of Central Television, the holder of the ITV Midlands broadcast franchise. The company was headed by Charles Denton, formerly the controller of programmes at Central's predecessor,

ATV ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television broadcaster * Andorra Televisió * Anguilla Television * Ayna TV, Afghanistan * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourn ...

. The company was initially designed to target the American market, and the company initially ran in the similar fashion

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

has been done with the

Euston Films Euston Films is a British film and television production company. It was originally a subsidiary of Thames Television, and operated from 1971 to 1994, producing various series for Thames, which were screened nationally on the ITV network. Euston ...

subsidiary. Some of Zenith's early productions or co-productions included the films '' The Hit'', ''

Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...

'', '' Insignificance'', ''

Sid and Nancy ''Sid and Nancy'' (also known as ''Sid and Nancy: Love Kills'') is a 1986 British biographical film directed by Alex Cox, co-written with Abbe Wool, and starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. The film portrays the life of Sid Vicious, bassist of ...

'', ''

Personal Services ''Personal Services'' is a 1987 British comedy film directed by Terry Jones and written by David Leland, about the rise of a madam of a suburban brothel which caters to older men. The story is inspired by the real experiences of Cynthia Payn ...

'', ''

Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire ''Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire'' is a 1985 British independent musical fantasy horror comedy-drama sports film starring Phil Daniels and Alun Armstrong. The film was directed by Alan Clarke and written by Trevor Preston. The BFI h ...

'', ''

Prick Up Your Ears ''Prick Up Your Ears'' is a 1987 British film, directed by Stephen Frears, about the playwright Joe Orton and his lover Kenneth Halliwell. The screenplay was written by Alan Bennett, based on the 1978 biography by John Lahr. The film stars G ...

'' and ''

Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 film), an Australian drama/mystery film by Kieran Darcy-Smith ...

''. Other productions with which Zenith was involved include '' Escape from Sobibor'', ''

A Gathering of Old Men ''A Gathering of Old Men'' is a novel by Ernest J. Gaines published in 1983. Set on a 1970s Louisiana cane farm, the novel addresses racial discrimination in the post-civil rights era South. The novel's title characters each admit to the mu ...

'' and an adaptation of

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's story "

The Dead The Dead may refer to: * The dead, those who have experienced death Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * The Dead (Higson novel), ''The Dead'' (Higson novel), 2010 novel by Charlie Higson * The Dead (Kracht novel), ''The Dead'' (Kracht nov ...

". Zenith also worked on the ''

'' television series, which began airing in 1987. In 1986, the company unveiled a pair of American-involved features, which included the film '' Slam Dance'', which was directed by

Wayne Wang Wayne Wang (; born January 12, 1949) is a Hong Kong-American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Considered a pioneer of Asian-American cinema, he was one of the first Chinese-American filmmakers to gain a major foothold in Hollyw ...

, and it was presold to film distributor

The Samuel Goldwyn Company The Samuel Goldwyn Company, later known as Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment, Goldwyn Entertainment Company, Goldwyn Films, and G2 Films, was an American independent film company founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the famous Cinema of the Unit ...

. In November 1987, Zenith Productions teamed up with film distributor/producer Atlantic Entertainment Group for a $20-million, three-picture agreement, after the success of ''

'', which Atlantic was distributing in North America, in which the agreement was more than subtle than a 50/50 agreement, and will be an equal partnership, and three films would be covered for the Atlantic/Zenith deal, which included pictures in the first wave like ''Patty'', as well as ''

For Queen and Country ''For Queen and Country'' is a 1988 crime drama film co-written and directed by Martin Stellman and starring Denzel Washington, Dorian Healy, Bruce Payne, Amanda Redman, Sean Chapman and Graham McTavish. Filmed in Panavision, Washington stars as ...

'' and ''

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase ''The Wolves of Willoughby Chase'' is a children's novel by Joan Aiken, first published in 1962. Set in an alternative history of England, it tells of the adventures of cousins Bonnie and Sylvia and their friend Simon the goose-boy as they thw ...

'', a co-production between the Czech Republic and the U.S., and Atlantic would handle worldwide rights for the former, and had North American rights to the latter two, and foreign sales would be handled by Zenith's Sales Company. Ahead of an IBA directive that 25% of ITV programming would have to be provided by independents, Zenith was sold by Central to

Carlton Communications Carlton Communications plc was a British media company. It was led by Michael P. Green and listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1983 until 2 February 2004, when it was bought by Granada plc in a corporate takeover to form ITV plc. Carlton s ...

in October 1987 for £6.3 million. Zenith announced that they were planning to become a separate independent production company, producing projects for not just Central, but for other networks and ITV franchisees, like

, while the British government is requiring the 16 ITV companies and

to commission an increasing quantity of independently produced material from outside suppliers. Carlton sold a 49% stake to

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

in 1989. Carlton had also bought the game-show specialist Action Time, which it folded into Zenith as a separate division, although the two units continued to maintain separate identities.Albert Moran and Justin Malbon, ''Understanding the global TV format'', Intellect Books, 2006; p
86
/ref> New productions included the series ''

The Paradise Club ''The Paradise Club'' is a BBC television crime drama series, broadcast between 19 September 1989 and 27 November 1990. The series starred Don Henderson and Leslie Grantham as Frank and Danny Kane, siblings who inherit a nightclub from their mo ...

'' and ''

'' in 1989, both for the BBC, one-off drama documentary '' Shoot to Kill'' (1990) for

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

/ITV,

sci-fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

drama ''

Chimera Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to: * Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals * Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilicia ...

'' (1991) for

Anglia Television ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

/ITV and the children's series ''

Gophers! ''Gophers!'' is a Channel 4 children's programme about a family of American gophers who move into a new neighbourhood, called Sycamore Heights, living next door to a family of uptight but well-intentioned rabbits, The Burrows. There were many ...

'' (1990) for Channel 4.

1993–2006

Carlton took on the ITV London franchise in 1993 and was compelled to divest Zenith. The profitable game-show subsidiary Action Time was sold to its management, with Carlton and Paramount each retaining a 15% holding. (The company was later re-acquired by Carlton in 2003, after rules on ITV production had changed). The drama side of Zenith was more of a challenge, but eventually found a buyer in Portman Entertainment, headed by

Victor Glynn Victor Glynn (born 11 October 1956) is a film and television producer and writer. Career Glynn was born in Balham, London. After working for the BBC World Service for a number of years in the mid to late 1970s he joined Michael Bogdanov at the ...

. The company was initially merged with Portman's existing production arm, but was separated the next year. Charles Denton left the company with the change of ownership; Ivan Rendall, producer of ''Byker Grove'', subsequently took over as managing director. Drama series produced by the company included the

Leslie Grantham Leslie Michael Grantham (30 April 1947 – 15 June 2018) was an English actor who played "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He was a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West Germany, West German ...

vehicle ''

99-1 ''99-1'' is a British television crime thriller series, first broadcast on 5 January 1994, that ran for a total of two series on ITV. The series starred Leslie Grantham as Mick Raynor, a maverick undercover policeman tasked with taking down so ...

'' (1994) and ''

Bodyguards A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public officials, wealthy business ...

'' (1996) for ITV, ''

The Famous Five ''The Famous Five'' is a series of children's Adventure fiction, adventure novels and short stories written by English author Enid Blyton. The first book, ''Five on a Treasure Island'', was published in 1942. The novels feature the adventure ...

'' (1995) for Children's ITV and for the BBC the very popular ''

Hamish MacBeth Hamish Macbeth is the police constable of the fictional Scottish Highlands, Scottish Highland town of Lochdubh, in a series of murder mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney). Considered by many to be a useless, lazy moocher, M ...

'' (1995) and the epic but less popular ''

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

'' (1996). The company also moved into entertainment, producing first the ''

Show'' (1995) on

Children's BBC BBC Children's and Education is the BBC division responsible for media content for children in the UK. Since the launch of specially dedicated television channels in 2002, the services have been marketed under two brands. CBBC (short for Chil ...

for the two popular stars from ''Byker Grove'', and then the hit Saturday morning ITV shows ''

'' (1998) and '' CD:UK'' (1998), under the aegis of a specially formed subsidiary, Blaze Television. In 1998 Zenith merged with a city-backed investment and rights-ownership group, Television Enterprise & Asset Management (Team), and renamed itself Zenith Entertainment.''Zenith Productions''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

By 2000, with the continuing success of ''Byker Grove'', ''SMTV Live'' and ''CD:UK'', the company was producing 300 hours of television a year, and was almost sold to United News & Media for £27 million. Instead, in 2003 the company was bought out by its management for somewhat less than £10 million. New Zenith programmes in this period included ''

Two Thousand Acres of Sky ''Two Thousand Acres of Sky '' is a British television drama series which aired on BBC One from 2001 to 2003. It was created and written by Timothy Prager. The Executive Producer was Adrian Bate. The show takes place on the fictional island of ...

'' (2001) and ''

55 Degrees North ''55 Degrees North'' is a BBC television drama series starring Don Gilet as DS Nicky Cole, a London detective relocated to Newcastle upon Tyne after exposing police corruption. Dervla Kirwan co-stars as Claire Maxwell, an ambitious solicitor. ...

'' (2004) for the BBC, the reality

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

'' The Enemy Within'' (2002) for the BBC, and children's programmes '' The Ghost Hunter'' (2000) for BBC and the animated ''

King Arthur's Disasters ''King Arthur's Disasters'' is a British animated series which first aired on CITV. Co-created by Paul Parkes and Will Ashurst, the series follows and depicts attempts by King Arthur (voiced by Rik Mayall), assisted by the wizard Merlin (voiced ...

'' (2005) for ITV. However, the company received a fatal double blow in 2006, when the

cut back on drama programming for teenagers and cancelled ''Byker Grove'' after 17 years, and ITV cancelled the ''CD:UK'' music show. The company tried to seek a merger partner,Jonathan Webdale
Zenith in talks over merger or sale
C21 Media, 21 June 2006 but eventually had to announce it would cease trading. The music subsidiary Blaze Television was sold to United States producer

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...

, who continued to produce '' CD:USA'' for a time with the format of the UK show.

2016

In 2016, the rights to the Zenith Entertainment library were purchased by Simply Media TV. Additionally, it was reported in certain UK tabloids, that duo "Ant and Dec" had bought the outright IP rights for the entire run of ''Byker Grove'', and ''SMTV Live'' - which they were both famous for.

References

External links

''Zenith Productions''
at the

''Zenith Entertainment''
at the

{{Authority control Film production companies of the United Kingdom Television production companies of the United Kingdom Entertainment companies established in 1984 Companies disestablished in 2006