Duck Soup Films has announced 2 new Executive Producer appointments, including Kathryn O’Connor.
O’Connor, who’s worked with Jimmy McGovern, Kay Mellor and Stephen Butchard, was also Executive Producer of Cold Feet. In 2018, she was appointed to lead Big Talk’s new Northern operation at MediaCityUK.
“Duck Soup’s vision and commitment to producing original, thought-provoking drama is both refreshing and inspiring. Their ethos brings bold storytelling to the forefront and I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the Ducks at this incredibly exciting time,” she explained.
Her role at Duck Soup will be to oversee its TV drama slate.
The Leeds-based indie has also brought in Celine Coulson, who will be leaving her position as Development and Production Executive at Film4.
Coulson has worked on titles including Saint Maud, The Favourite and You Were Never Really Here, and as Executive Producer at Duck Soup Films, she will focus on feature films.
“We are delighted to be welcoming both Kathryn and Celine to Duck Soup. They both bring with them a wealth of experience and they share a ‘talent-led’ approach that we at Duck Soup identify with and embrace,” said founder Libby Durdy.
Last month, Channel 4 confirmed that it was investing in Duck Soup Films as part of its Growth Fund. This provides support to the indie sector by taking a minority stake in them, to take them to their next stage.
“It’s a wonderful time for scripted and we have been busily building a slate of high-end TV Dramas and Feature Films aiming to take mainstream audiences to interesting and stimulating places they haven’t seen on TV before,” said founder Jessica Holyland.
“Duck Soup’s diverse talent roster needs careful management and the founders, with C4 Growth Fund backing, recognise it’s time to scale up to ensure the development slate is flying high and can continue to do so whilst we enter into production.”
