Red Production CEO Sarah Doole steps down at ‘It’s A Sin’ prodco

Sarah Doole

Sarah Doole has stepped down as CEO at Red Production Company, the StudioCanal-owned UK company behind Channel 4 hit It’s A Sin.

The former Fremantle head of global drama replaced Nicola Shindler as CEO of Red in 2020, after the prodco’s founder moved to start up ITV Studios-backed Quay Street.

Doole spent 18 months at Stay Close producer Red, which she joined after seven years at Fremantle where her credits included the Deutschland trilogy, The Young Pope, My Brilliant Friend, Beecham House, Picnic At Hanging Rock and The Salisbury Poisonings.

Prior to that, she was creative director of drama & head of indie drama at BBC Worldwide (now known as BBC Studios), where credits included Sherlock, Gavin & Stacey and Call The Midwife.

She is now understood to be full-time CEO at Sow the Seed, an incubator designed to propagate new voices in factual. A replacement at Red has not yet been named.

Exec reshuffles

Doole’s exit, which is understood to have taken place several weeks ago, comes three months after Red hired Margaret Conway as its head of production to replace Sony-bound Michaela Fereday.

Conway’s remit includes oversight of productions across Red’s scripted slate as well as its growing factual offering, which has been working with Sow the Seed.

Doole’s exit is the latest senior exec change for Red in the last 18 months. Her appointment as CEO in September 2020 came just six months after Shindler had been named chief creative officer at StudioCanal UK. The company had made its first investment in Red in 2013.

Manchester-based Red is behind UK dramas such as Ridley Road, Queer As Folk, Happy Valley and Last Tango In Halifax. Recent projects include No Return for ITV, Stay Close for Netflix and the upcoming Anansi Boys for Amazon Prime.