Shed Media Group (majority owned by Warner Bros.) has appointed Wall to Wall’s Creative Director, Leanne Klein, as its new CEO of Wall to Wall.  As one of the largest and most successful production companies in the UK, Wall to Wall recently won Production Company of the Year at the prestigious Edinburgh Television Festival Awards.

Leanne Klein has been at Wall to Wall since 1995, when she won an Emmy for directing her first series for the company, Baby It’s You.  Since then, she has gone on to creatively oversee much of Wall to Wall’s most iconic output including The 1900 House, Long Lost Family, Turn Back Time, The Young Ones, Child Genius, Hitchcock biopic The Girl, and The Voice UK.

The move sees Klein succeed current CEO, Alex Graham, who will help effect a handover until the end of the year.  Graham will remain intimately connected with the company he helped found, by remaining as an Executive Producer on the US version of the international smash hit format he created, Who Do You Think You Are?.

Nick Southgate, CEO of Shed Media Group, said “Leanne is a brilliant creative television executive and she has Wall to Wall running through her veins.  I’m absolutely delighted she’s agreed to take over from Alex.  Alex is one of the titans of the independent production sector, but I can’t think of anyone better to fill his large shoes.  I’m extremely glad that he will remain as an EP on the US version of Who Do You Think You Are?, so the company can continue to benefit from his advice and experience.”

Leanne Klein comments: “I know I’m biased, but the fact that Wall to Wall makes such fantastic shows across three different genres – including a raft of returning hits – means, for me, there’s no production company in the UK that could be more exciting to run.  I can’t wait to get started.  On a personal level, I’ll miss Alex hugely.  It’s been a privilege to work with him for almost 20 years and he’s built a fantastic business which keeps creativity at its heart – something I’ll do my very best to maintain.”

Alex Graham adds: “I've had the privilege of working with Leanne for almost 20 years.  She's the most creative television executive I know and the perfect person to build on the company's reputation for quality, integrity and originality."

-ENDS-

Leanne Klein biog:

Leanne became Wall to Wall's Creative Director in March 2011.  Responsible for overseeing the company's creative output across a broad range of genres including factual, drama and entertainment, she also manages Wall to Wall's growing team of in-house executive producers.

Leanne first worked for the company in 1990 and joined permanently in 1995 – the year she won an Emmy as best director for Wall to Wall’s Channel 4/TLC series, Baby It's You.  She went on to direct and series produce a number of innovative and award-winning series and, over almost two decades, has been responsible for generating many of the company’s most successful and acclaimed shows and formats, from factual entertainment to documentary, arts and history to landmark factual dramas.

In 1999 she took on her first executive producer role, on Peabody and RTS-winning The 1900 House, which launched the whole field of 'living history' programming and spawned nine further Wall to Wall series.

Her executive producer credits include dramas like Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story starring Julie Walters and Golden Globe, BAFTA and Emmy nominated HBO/BBC Hitchcock biopic, The Girl, starring Sienna Miller and Toby Jones; hit returning formats like RTS-winning Long Lost Family for ITV1 and Turn Back Time for BBC One; long-running documentary series Child Genius for Channel 4; and BAFTA-nominated BBC One science/entertainment hybrid The Young Ones.

As Creative Director, Leanne oversaw delivery of the company’s first ever Saturday night talent show, The Voice UK, which became the BBC’s biggest new entertainment show for over a decade.  Leanne runs Wall to Wall's Creative Board, is a member of the company’s Senior Management team, and sits on the Shed Group Management Board.

Alex Graham biog:

Born in Glasgow, Alex Graham has been a leading figure in UK independent television production sector for almost 30 years.

Educated at Glasgow University and City University, London, he graduated from City with a Diploma in Journalism in 1978.  After spells at the Bradford Telegraph and Argus and the Sunday Times, he joined London Weekend Television in 1979.

In 1983, he left to join Diverse Productions, where he became editor of Channel 4’s flagship current affairs series Diverse Reports and in 1987, he set up Wall to Wall.  Over 20 years, Alex has been involved in creating and executive producing a wide range of hit television programmes including The 1900 House, A Rather English Marriage, Who Do You Think You Are? and New Tricks.

Alex is also a non-executive director of the Scott Trust. He is chair of the Sheffield International Documentary Festival.  He is a former chair of the Producers’ Alliance for Cinema and Television (Pact) and now sits on their Patrons’ Group.  He is a visiting professor of television at Lincoln University and a member of the Advisory Board for the National Film and Television School’s new Entrepreneurial Producing EPCRI Course.  In 2009 he received an honorary doctorate from City University.  He is a fellow of the Royal Television Society and the Royal Society of Arts.