Bad Wolf is to spend at least £60m on productions in Wales over the next four years after securing a deal with the Welsh government.
Creative Wales had given the Doctor Who and I Hate Suzie indie £4m to “consolidate its position and continue to grow in Wales”.
The deal commits Bad Wolf to continue to make Doctor Who out of its Wolf Studios Wales in Cardiff and to spend at least £60m on making at least four productions in Wales over the period.
The company will provide at least 42 “meaningful” trainee placements and 25 shadow placements on high-end shows as part of the deal.
“The high numbers of Welsh crew and supply chain companies working on the productions will secure invaluable production credits, which will only strengthen Wales’ reputation as a first-class filming location with talented and skilled crew able to service high-end production,” said Wales deputy minister Dawn Bowden.
Bad Wolf co-founders Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner located Doctor Who in Cardiff ahead of its 2005 reboot and swiftly consolidated it with spin-offs Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures to begin to build a sustainable TV drama base in the city. The BBC moved Casualty to Cardiff in 2011.
In 2015, the pair set up Bad Wolf in the city, subsequently securing majority backing from Sony Pictures TV and producing dramas including BBC/HBO co-pro His Dark Materials, Sky’s A Discovery of Witches and ITVX’s The Winter King.
It is showcasing its ITVX thriller Red Eye at this week’s London TV Screenings and is currently in production on BBC1’s Dope Girls.
“The continued support from Welsh Government to the creative industries in Wales has been invaluable to the growth of TV production here,” said Tranter.
“When we first located Doctor Who in Wales almost 20 years ago, we could have hardly dared to hope that two decades later we would see such a diverse slate of TV drama being made by a plethora of different companies.
“Bad Wolf is honoured to be part of an energetic and vibrant industry that we are sure will continue to bring investment and employment to Wales for many years to come.”
