A production powerhouse is heading up the Australian series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, being shot in Africa and premiering on TEN in 2015.
Industry supremos Peter Abbott and Lara Hopkins will be executive producers on the show for production company ITV Studios Australia, with Network Ten’s Head of Entertainment and Factual Programming, Stephen Tate, as executive producer for the network.
Abbott and Hopkins have a long-term working association, collaborating on three seasons of Big Brother on TEN. Hopkins had been working for the BBC in the UK for three years when Big Brother executive producer Peter Abbott invited her to work as a producer on the first Australian season of Big Brother. Across seven seasons of the reality juggernaut, she rose to supervising producer and subsequently to the role of live series producer. Abbott was executive producer for the first three seasons.
Hopkins already has experience on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, having worked as a producer on the UK version of the show, where it has had 13 huge seasons. Hopkins has a rich TV pedigree, including credits as series producer of the first season of ITV Studios Australia’s Talkin’ ‘bout Your Generation, executive producer on The Contender, Minute to Win It, The Great Australian Bake Off and Meet The Frockers.
Peter Abbott has been working for Australian television production companies and networks for more than 30 years, notably co-founding Freehand and having two stints at Beyond Productions as well as several years at the Seven Network, followed by time at Southern Star.
Stephen Tate oversees Network Ten’s light entertainment, factual, comedy, variety and music genres. Most recently he has been executive producer on popular TEN franchises including The Bachelor Australia, Recipe to Riches and Gold Coast Cops. Stephen Tate has had a 20-year television career in Australia and in the UK, working with some of the biggest names in British entertainment, including Sir David Frost, Cilla Black and Bruce Forsythe.