Firecracker are thrilled to have picked up the inaugural Multichannel Production Company of the Year prize at the Broadcast Digital Awards this afternoon. They received this honour ahead of CTVC, Fulwell 73, Merman Television, Strawberry Blond TV and Workerbee.
They are responsible for W’s Emma Willis: Delivering Babies, which came out on top in the Best Popular Factual Programme category for the second year running, as well as two other shows on the shortlist in the same category: Stacey Dooely Sleeps Over for W and The Sex Clinic for E4.
The indie has been working hard over the past year to increase its digital presence and its shows now have a prominent place across UKTV, BBC Scotland and E4. Top female talent Willis and Dooley helm the two highest-rated programmes on UKTV-owned W, and Sleeps Over remains Dooley’s only non-BBC show. Firecracker also pulls in a young, upmarket audience to W with Emily Atack’s new series Adulting.
With offices in Glasgow and London, the indie has had four series commissioned by BBC Scotland. Rogue To Wrestler won Best Fact Ent/Features Programme at the RTS Scotland Awards and was also shortlisted for a Scottish Bafta.
Building on its debut series, E4’s The Sex Clinic has been a particularly strong show commercially, with the format already sold to Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, and in development in the US.
With high-volume returnable series key to the success of any factual indie, Firecracker Films boasts 18 episodes of the double Broadcast Digital Award-winning Emma Willis: Delivering Babies (including spin-offs). Following such a run of success, Firecracker is now being noticed by other digital channels and is currently in advanced development with projects for Sky, Viacom and Discovery.