RDF London appoints Electric Ray exec as managing director

Meredith Chambers

Banijay-owned RDF London has appointed Electric Ray exec Meredith Chambers as MD of the UK factual firm.

Reporting to Kitty Walshe, CEO at Remarkable Factual and RDF Television, Chambers will be responsible for managing the London-based arm of the business and building on RDF’s popular factual, factual entertainment and formatted factual offering.

Chambers joins from his role as MD at Sony-backed Electric Ray, where he has spent eight years at the helm, and was responsible for titles such as The Million Pound Menu for BBC2 and Netflix, Class of ‘92:  Out of Their League for BBC One and Netflix, Alone at Home for Channel 4, Call That Hard Work for BBC One and Celebrity Cooking School for E4.

Prior to this, Chambers was creative director of Twenty Twenty, where he created First Dates as well as Channel 4 titles The Hoarder Next Door and My Transexual Summer. Earlier in his career, Chambers was executive editor at BBC Wales and served as commissioning editor for documentaries at Channel 4 where he ordered and oversaw series including Wife Swap, The Secret Millionaire and Cutting Edge.

Jo Scarratt-Jones, MD of RDF West, continues to be responsible for the business out of Bristol and Wales – which produces Only Connect, Eat Well For Less? and Dickinson’s Real Deal. Also reporting to Walshe, she will work closely with Chambers to build the overall slate.

Walshe will also continue to oversee Banijay-owned Remarkable Factual, producer of shows such as Your Home Made Perfect, Inside Your Body With Kate Garraway, Animal Park and upcoming Design Your Dream for Channel 4, working with director of programmes Jo Smith who joined the business earlier in the year from the BBC.

“I’m so proud of Electric Ray, and have loved being part of Sony, but when Kitty asked me to be part of her ambitious plans I just had to jump at the chance to work with her at such an exciting time,” said Chambers.

“RDF has always been short-hand for ground-breaking, world-beating fact-ent and I can’t wait to get stuck in with Kitty, Jo and the whole RDF team to create the next generation of formats.”