True North makes compelling, original programmes with intimate access to the the best stories and brightest characters.
In 2008, we hit the headlines with access to two of the biggest news stories of the year - the kidnap of Dewsbury schoolgirl Shannon Matthews by her own mother, and the disappearance of back-from-the-dead canoeist John Darwin.
We were the only company with detailed access to both police investigations. One Man and His Canoe: The John Darwin Story explored the intricate fraud committed by Darwin and his wife Anne when they faked John's death to claim his life insurance policy. Shannon: The Mother of All Lies was broadcast on BBC One just hours after Leeds Crown court found Karen Matthews guilty of kidnapping her own daughter. The Panorama special told the definitive story of what really happened to Shannon, and became the highest rated BBC Current Affairs film of 2008, with 5.6 million viewers.
Alongside single access films like these, we also specialise in high volume series, and are currently in production with episodes 80-100 of BBC Daytime series Animal 24:7 which consistently gets more than 1.2m viewers in its 9:15am slot. 2008 also saw us produce 30 episodes of global wildlife series Animal Rescue Squad and 24 editions of live, studio based faith and ethics show Sunday Life, and together with our single film productions, this made us the eighth biggest factual producer in the UK, by hours.
True North built its reputation with single documentaries and we pride ourselves on delivering popular and often headline-grabbing access-based films. In January 2008, My Fake Baby (Channel 4) explored the world of reborning, gained an impressive 3.8 million viewers in its 10pm slot - doubling the slot's average. And in spring 2007, Extraordinary People: The Twins Who Share a Body, became Five's second-highest-rated factual programme ever.
To navigate through our productions, select a programme genre from the list below.