What the industry say about us

What the industry says about us

“I was on the Board of The Garden when I ran ITV Studios, so I’ve seen first-hand the value Nick and Scarlett bring.

They’re brilliant at growing and running a production company. If you’re an indie boss or thinking of launching one and you have the chance to get a bit of their time, seize it with both hands. Their influence will make a life-changing difference.”
Kevin Lygo, Director of Television, ITV

“I have known Nick Curwin over the last decade or so and have been delighted to witness the growth of both his hugely successful production companies, Dragonfly and The Garden. Nick and I worked alongside each other as part of Shine Group and during that period I saw him and his team create the new genre of fixed rig and go on to many successes worldwide – from The Family to One Born Every Minute to 24 Hours in A&E. Nick has worked with us at Channel 4 as an advisor to our Growth Fund indies and we have all benefited from his mentorship and the knowledgable, considered guidance he has given to the creative entrepreneurs in the businesses.”
Alex Mahon, Chief Executive, Channel 4

“Across the years I’ve worked with Nick, Scarlett and Edwina on a number of Channel 5 shows.

They are excellent executives and very talented creatives but in addition have proved to be smart business people who can attract and work with great talent. As advisers to indies, I can see that they will be able to offer a huge amount of support and encouragement in terms of experience, know-how and creative and commercial acumen and I applaud their decision to actively contribute

to the growth of the production community in the Nations and Regions.”
Ben Frow, Director of Programmes, Channel 5

“Nick Curwin is one of the foremost creative business leaders in UK television. Together with Magnus Temple, he created not just one major new indie from start-up (Dragonfly), but did it again with The Garden. Nick is a true entrepreneurial producer, who loves ideas and development but who also understands the business framework that will make them fly. He’s always been a great identifier and champion of talent, which has been crucial to his businesses growing and thriving. I wish him all success with his new venture sharing his expertise.”
Patrick Holland, Executive Chairman of Banijay UK

“Nick and Scarlett have an incredibly strong track record not just in running successful indies, but also really understanding how to

grow a business and create long term value. I’ve worked with both of them in a variety of capacities for over 15 years and trust their editorial and business judgement completely.”
Julian Bellamy, Managing Director, ITV Studios

“Nick worked as a fantastic mentor within our Indie Growth Fund.

He was extremely helpful and added a great deal of creative and commercial value to our portfolio of indies.”
Jonathan Allan, Commercial Director, Channel 4

“I couldn’t think of a better combination than Nick Curwin and Scarlett Ewens via Matisse to provide start-ups and growing TV production companies with strategic advice. Their track record and breadth of knowledge, which are second to none, combined with extensive contacts across the broadcast arena make their involvement a compelling proposition.”
Thomas Dey, President, About Corporate Finance

“I was in factual commissioning roles at Channel 4 for over 10 years so I worked with Nick at Mentorn, Dragonfly and at The Garden.

The spark of innovation that Nick brought to factual programmes drove amazing output from all of those suppliers,

from Going Cold Turkey to The Family, One Born Every Minute, Kill it Cook it Eat It, The Audience, 24 Hours In A&E and 24 Hours in Police Custody. In the latter two programmes Nick and his team demonstrated they could not only innovate but accomplish the difficult job of keeping key

long-running titles vital and fresh and manage a key fixture in a channel’s prime time schedule.

The key to Nick’s success has been the combination of a journalist’s eye with a passion for innovation in form.

But beyond that he’s also been first class at identifying and attracting great programme making talent which allowed him to grow his companies while giving his clients the reassurance that they will deliver both quality and innovation.”
Ralph Lee, Director of Content, BBC Studios

“Working with Nick was a cathartic experience. Open, honest and fun. Rarely do you meet people who are so genuine with the credentials to back it all up. Every meeting led to a renewed sense of purpose and energy. I consider myself very lucky to have spent time with Nick,

a truly inspirational entrepreneur.”
Sunil Patel, Managing Director, Whisper Films

“Nick acted as a consultant for Eleven on a number of key strategic challenges. He swiftly and incisively identified the critical factors in each case, proposed creative solutions, and encouraged us to act decisively. Ultimately Nick had a material impact on our company’s growth.”

Jamie Campbell and Joel Wilson, Creative Directors, Eleven Film

“During his time as an advisor to the Channel 4 Growth Fund, Nick gave us some truly insightful advice and support at a moment of transition

and growth for Lightbox. As someone who had been through exactly what we were going through,

Nick was able to bring real experience and wisdom to our company at a time when it was much needed.”

Simon and Jonathan Chinn, Co-Founders, Lightbox

Nick has set up and sold two very successful TV production companies – Firefly and The Garden – and was responsible for both pioneering

fixed-rig TV and being nominated for 7 BAFTAs and winning 2. Many of his productions are still supporting TV schedules today, including 24 Hours in A&E. Nick acted as a consultant for Spelthorne Community TV, supporting both our overall creative and commercial strategy and helping get away individual projects. Nick manages to cut to the chase on both editorial and commercial issues quickly,

whilst being calm, erudite, supportive and charming. He’s a senior industry executive bringing an enormous amount of know-how

(both creative and financial), understands how to scale a production business, is extremely highly regarded and well connected.

Given these strengths, we have no doubt that producers in the nations and regions will be very keen to be part of his new project.”

Andrew Newman and Nick Swimer, CEO and Creative Director, Spelthorne Community TV

“Nick advised us on a number of strategic and creative issues, most notably in relation to the repositioning and rebranding of the company as we expanded from our initial focus on virtual reality.

He shared clear, insightful and helpful advice – very quickly getting to grips with complex issues. His ability to identify and analyse key challenges, suggest solutions and to do so in a positive, empowering way was extremely helpful.”

David Wise and Nicholas Minter-Green, Joint CEOs, Parable

“I have worked with Scarlett for a number of years. The best way I can sum her up is just to say that "she gets it". She understands how to enable the creative side of the business and make sure it can do its best. But she does so whilst making sure that the productions and the company are properly budgeted, managed and controlled. Together this means that the company will prosper and grow. She is my template for the role of COO or MD of a production company and I wish we could find a way to clone her. She is also great fun to work with.”
Malcolm Gardener, Managing Director, Brayford Media Ltd

“I worked closely with Scarlett on the sale of The Garden to ITV from a corporate finance perspective.

Scarlett has a keen eye for detail, is very astute financially whilst being commercially savvy.

This rare combination of being strong operationally, financially and legally, makes Scarlett the ideal partner for someone looking to start a new business or grow an existing one.”

Sachin Dosani, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Wonderhood Studios

“Ed is a brilliantly smart and ambitious creative, with an eye for a must-have idea and the passion and tenacity to develop and deliver it.

She’s also great at identifying exactly who or what is needed to really make a project sing.

A talented communicator, with incredible persuasive skills, I’d always back her to pull off the seemingly impossible!”

Clare Mottershead , Commissioning Editor, BBC, Popular Factual

“Edwina is a great television executive, she manages to combine a flair for original ideas and brilliant execution with a passion for talent and a natural, authentic way with people. She has an intuitive understanding of a channel’s needs and of what makes great television.

She has the emotional intelligence, wit and warmth that make her a joy to work with.”

Kate Teckman, Commissioning Editor, Factual Entertainment, ITV

“I’ve worked with Ed for over two decades. She is incredibly enthusiastic and ambitious, with an extraordinary work ethic.

She understands television from the development process through to delivery and has been responsible for many creative,

audacious, entertaining and important films. More importantly, she is an absolute pleasure to work with.”
Emma Loach, Commissioning Editor, BBC, Documentaries

“We’ve known Edwina Silver for much of her outstanding career in television – as an accomplished on-screen presenter, as a junior producer,

then a senior producer, as a senior creative inventing ambitious and ground-breaking ideas, and now as a senior Executive.

She has worked in established companies and in start-ups that have gone on to become huge successes. She has an uncanny ability to both create and to spot noisy and commercial ideas that can transform a business. She is dynamic, a true collaborator and understands how hard developing and delivering ideas can be in our industry. Her tailored advice will be of huge benefit to both new and established television businesses.”
Alan Hayling and Alex Cooke, co-founders, Renegade Pictures

“Edwina is a terrific all-rounder: genuinely creative with a track record in originating and developing ambitious ideas across the factual spectrum;

a proven business winner who has secured commissions with every major broadcaster;

a confident and reassuring negotiator who has secured difficult access to institutions and locations around the world; and, almost uniquely, combines these skills with a sharp commercial instinct and business acumen.”
Sanjay Singhal, Chief Executive, Voltage

“I worked with Edwina for over 3 years whilst running Dragonfly. Edwina was an incredible colleague. Not only was she great at running teams, providing a supportive and creative atmosphere. Edwina was brilliantly insightful at understanding the opportunities that existed within market.

She was central to Dragonfly’s long running success.”
Mark Raphael, Co-Founder, 72 Films