Celador

Celador is a global light entertainment company originally formed as an independent production company in 1983. It has produced a number of popular light entertainment shows and is probably best known for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and co-producing the film Slumdog Millionaire which collected seven BAFTAs, four Golden Globes and eight Oscars including Best Director and Best Picture in 2009.^[1]

Celador owns eighteen UK radio stations as of March 2013.

The name Celador is a re-spelling of "cellar door", a phrase whose sound is often noted to be particularly euphonious.

History

Celador was originally taken over by Complete Communications, which bought out shareholders including Paul Smith CBE and Jasper Carrott. Under the ownership of Complete, Celador expanded its fledgling radio, film and international businesses. Later, Complete Communications announced its intention to sell the company. Around the same time as the sell off of Celador International and the rights and associated properties of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? to Dutch group 2waytraffic, Celador Productions' management completed a buy out of the company.

In 2006, Celador offered the rights and UK programme library of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? for sale, with a view toward the eventual sale of other parts of the business.^[2] In 2004 Celador took legal action against Disney for what it claimed were unpaid profits from Disney’s screening of the programme in the US. At a trial by jury in Los Angeles in June 2010 the jury awarded Celador $269m (£177m) in damages after ruling it failed to receive a fair share of profits.^[3]

Celador Entertainment

Television

• All About Me BBC
• The Detectives BBC
• Many Jasper Carrott stand up shows, such as Canned Carrott
• You Are What You Eat Channel 4
• It's Been a Bad Week BBC Radio 2 topical comedy starring Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis, Sue Perkins, Mitch Benn & Toby Longworth
• The Hypnotic World of Paul McKenna
• National Lottery Winning Lines
• Richard Digance's Greatest Bits
• Commercial Breakdown
• Talking Telephone Numbers
• Winning Lines

Films

• Dirty Pretty Things (2002) directed by Stephen Frears and stars Audrey Tautou and Chiwetel Ejiofor
• Separate Lies (2005) written and directed by Julian Fellowes and stars Emily Watson, Tom Wilkinson and Rupert Everett
• The Descent (2006) directed by Neil Marshall and stars Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone and MyAnna Buring
• Slumdog Millionaire (2009) (with Fox Searchlight Pictures, Warner Bros., Pathé and Film4)^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]}
• The Descent Part 2 (2009)
• The Scouting Book for Boys (2010)

Theatre

Slumdog Millionaire the Musical is currently in production for launching in London's West End in 2012.

Celador Radio

The current portfolio of stations is:

The Breeze Network

• The Breeze (South & East Hampshire)
• The Breeze (Bristol)
• The Breeze (Bath)
• The Breeze (Bridgwater & West Somerset)
• The Breeze (Yeovil & South Somerset)
• The Breeze (Frome & West Wiltshire)
• The Breeze (Andover)
• The Breeze (Newbury)
• The Breeze (North Dorset)
• The Breeze (North Somerset)
• The Breeze (Basingstoke)
• The Breeze (Cheltenham & North Gloucestershire)

Jack FM Stations

• 106 Jack FM (South Coast)
• 106 Jack FM (Bristol)
• 107 Jack FM (Swindon)^[16]

People

Paul Smith CBE, is Chairman of Celador Entertainment Limited which is the umbrella company for Celador Films, Celador Radio, Celador Theatrical and LUSAM

Following the new structure of Celador's previous constituent divisions, Celador Productions is now run by managing director (since 2003) Danielle Lux. Christian Colson left Celador Films as Managing Director in 2009 to form Cloud Nine Films, now renamed Cloud Eight Films, of which Paul Smith is a Director.

References

External links

• Celador Entertainment
• CPL Productions
• Celador Films
• 2waytraffic, the distributor of Celador programmes and owner of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?; now a subsidiary of Sony Pictures
• thebreeze.com
• www.jackbristol.com
• www.jackradio.com
• www.jackfmswindon.com