Channel 4 commissions from Blink Films Royals Declassified

22 October 2020

Leading British factual producer Blink Films is producing a three-part series for Channel 4 unveiling the secrets behind Queen Elizabeth’s reign and her relationships with her husband, family, British and foreign politicians. 

Royals Declassified (working title, 3x60’) uses declassified documents - letters, diaries, eye-witness testimony and audio recordings – along with interviews with royal insiders, historians and politicians to tell three extraordinary stories about Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. 

The first unravels her intimate relationships with her Prime Ministers, including mounting tensions with Margaret Thatcher that threatened a constitutional crisis.   The second explores the Queen’s relationship with her husband Prince Philip and her family, and sheds fresh light on the tensions she’s experienced between the demands of her family and her role as monarch.  And the final film explores how a spy passing information to the Soviets was able to work for so many years in Buckingham Palace, even when the royal family became aware he was a spy.   What did he know, and why did they continue to protect him?

Shaminder Nahal, Commissioning Editor, Specialist Factual, said: “From the Queen’s relationships with her Prime Ministers, to the extraordinary story of the spy in the Palace and some of the Queen’s family secrets - this series brings many intriguing aspects of the history of the Crown to life in primary colour - with wit, verve and fascinating detail.”

Dan Chambers, Creative Director of Blink Films added: “What makes these films so compelling is the new evidence we’ve uncovered both from declassified documents and from contributors.”

Royals Declassified is a Blink Films production for Channel 4. The Executive Producers are Dan Chambers and Tom Adams.  The directors are Andy Webb, Ian Hunt and Kelly Close.  It was commissioned for Channel 4 by Fatima Salaria and is being overseen at Channel 4 by Shaminder Nahal. The films are being distributed internationally by Fremantle.

Blink Films, a Tin Roof Media company, has recently been commissioned to produce Meet The Chimps, a six-part Natural History series for Disney+; Diana: The Truth Behind the Interview, for Channel 4; Rose West and Myra Hindley: The Untold Story for ITV; Tom Kerridge Barbecues for Food Network UK; Unforgotten for BBC2; Mummy Mysteries for Travel Channel and Channel 5; Dog Tales and Cat Tales for PBS/NOVA. Blink is currently in production on a range of projects for broadcasters including a six part series for the Smithsonian Channel and a 10-part series for the Science Channel.

 

…/ends

 

contact: srosier@channel4.co.uk

 

About Blink Films

Blink Films is a BAFTA award winning production company based in London and Ireland. Set up in 2007 by Dan Chambers and Justine Kershaw, Blink has produced over 400 hours of factual, documentaries, features, factual entertainment, drama-doc and comedy programming. Our award-winning programmes are noted for their intelligence, warmth and creativity – whether  tackling the sensitive subject of death through a ground-breaking experiment, exploring what it is to be human through a landmark science series, or creating a new entertainment format around gadgets and technology. Blink Films is a Tin Roof Media company.

 

About Tin Roof Media

Tin Roof Media was created in 2015 and houses leading British independent factual television producers Blink Films and Outline Productions. The Group, chaired by Rod Henwood, is headquartered in London with production bases in London and Wales and creates, produces and distributes award-winning television content for broadcasters and platforms worldwide including Disney+, Netflix, Discovery, National Geographic, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, ITV, Sky, HGTV and Smithsonian Channel. Tin Roof Media is backed by Rockpool Investments.