British YouTube star Joe Sugg is launching a BBC Studios-backed production company to develop reality and entertainment formats.
Final Straw Productions will make shows for all ages and has already struck a development, production and distribution deal with the commercial arm of the BBC, which has worked with Sugg in the past. As part of the deal, Sugg will join BBC Studios. Top Gear i Celebrity Big Painting Challenge executive Sacha Grimsditch, who becomes a development executive and will help Sugg build the company.
Sugg already runs a talent agency, Margravine Talent Agency.
She’s a British YouTube sensation, with 7.5 million followers and a major presence on Instagram and TikTok. In 2018, it achieved mainstream status by coming second in BBC One’s entertainment format Come dance strictly, seen by millions of viewers every week. He has also written a number of graphic novels and recently moved into acting, starring in BBC One’s The Union by Kay Mellor.
Director of TalentWorks at BBC Studios, Helen O’Donnell, called him a “fantastic creator who entertains and delights audiences across multiple platforms.”
Sugg added: “My head has always been so full of ideas, so to be given the opportunity to build a great team that can help bring those ideas to life with the support of BBC Studios and their guidance and expertise it’s fantastic”.
