Rockerdale Studios joins Channel 4’s Indie Growth Fund

27 May 2022

Rockerdale Studios is the latest independent production company to join Channel 4’s Indie Growth Fund.

Founded by CEO Stu Richards and COO Michelle Singer, Rockerdale Studios is the indie behind shows such as the Broadcast Digital Award-winning Mission: Accessible (Channel 4), Bobby and Harriet Get Married (Viceland and Comedy Central), Brad Boyz (All 4) and the upcoming Rosie Jones’ Dine Hard (All4).

Rockerdale Studios, a disabled-led company that puts on- and off-screen disable talent at the heart of their work, have made a name for themselves with their unique brand of mischievous and provocative comedy content in scripted and unscripted.

Caroline Murphy, Head of the Channel 4’s Indie Growth Fund, said: “Stu and Michelle are an impressive team both creatively and in terms of ambition. They make really distinctive, fun and entertaining content and they embrace disability in their shows.

“I’m delighted Rockerdale Studios has joined the Indie Growth Fund, I think we could really help the business move onto the next stage of its development and scale up.”

“The essence of what we do is bringing a mischievous, funny spin to genres that need a rocket up them – and so who better to get into bed with than Channel Four? The alignment with them in our emphasis on hiring brilliant disabled people - over 80% of senior roles on our last show - is another reason this works. We’ve got the noisy ideas, the diverse talent to make them: that’s the Rockerdale sell to broadcasters“, said CEO Stu Richards and COO Michelle Singer of Rockerdale Studios.

Stu is the co-creator and co-writer of BBC3’s Rose D’Or nominated sitcom Jerk – before that he worked in factual and entertainment development for companies such as Love Productions, CPL, IWC and Primal Media.

Michelle began her career at the BBC and has worked on everything from EastEnders and Airport, to Shooting Stars and celebrity boxing show The Fight.  Outside of the BBC she has worked as a freelance production manager and Head of Production. She’s worked for a range of companies including Open Mike, Mentorn and OR Media and also ran the delivery side of the commissioning department at Fox International Channels UK.

The addition of Rockerdale Studios takes the current portfolio of companies in the Channel 4 IGF to 17, with nine companies having joined since 2020.

 

About the Indie Growth Fund

 Led by Head of Fund Caroline Murphy, Channel 4’s Indie Growth Fund provides additional support to the UK independent creative sector by investing in UK-based SMEs, taking minority stakes to help them to grow their business to the next stage. The Fund’s future strategy is focused on prioritising investment in the Nations and Regions, diverse-led and digital businesses across the UK.

About Rockerdale Studios

Founded in 2017, Rockerdale Studios is one of the UK’s leading producers of scripted and unscripted comedy programming.

Led by co-founders CEO Stu Richards and COO Michelle Singer, the writer-led production company specialises in making scripted, entertainment, features, and fact-ent formats with funny, diverse talent for linear and digital platforms.

Rockerdale’s wide roster of successful productions includes ‘Brad Boyz’, ‘Bobby and Harriet Get Married’ and ‘Mission: Accessible’.

In 2019 Rockerdale took part in the IndieLab Accelerator programme and it was a recipient of the BBC Small Indie Fund 2021/22.