December 2006 saw the transmission of five of Iambic’s recent British television commissions, and they typify the kinds of programme the company habitually produces – high-end arts and entertainment events.

First came Joan Sutherland – The Reluctant Prima Donna, a biography of the great soprano on BBCFour. In previous years Iambic has produced programmes about Maria Callas, Montserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras and other major figures in the world of opera, all of which won awards.

Second to air was The People’s Chorus, reviewed as ‘a fantastic film’, which featured a performance of Thomas Tallis’s extraordinary 40-part motet Spem in Alium. Iambic has previously created a number of classical music performances for television, from the purely classical (Haydn’s Creation, Purcell’s Hail, Bright Cecilia!,Vivaldi’s Four Seasons among others) to varied concerts (Midsummer Classics from the Albert Hall, Kiri’s Coventry Carols, Jose Carreras and Friends etc), to new films of major works in the performing arts canon (Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette with Alagna and Gheorghiu, Trevor Nunn’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’, ‘Oklahoma! starring Hugh Jackman etc).

Third was Iambic’s fourth ITV1 programme about a Swedish supergroup: Abba – Thank You For The Music. This programme tells the story of Abba using a little-known pop opera they performed in 1977 which mirrors part of their story – life imitating art – as well as laying the foundations for the musicals Bjorn and Benny went on to write after Abba split. Previous Abba films have won awards, been BAFTA-nominated, and hold the record for the highest ratings in their genre.

Fourth was Imagine: The Beatles in ‘Love’, for BBCOne, about Cirque du Soleil’s new show and the resultant ‘new’ Beatles album. Although Iambic’s first production for this strand, it has previously produced major programmes for arts series such as Imagine’s forerunner ‘Omnibus’ on topics from Andre Previn to Wallace and Gromit, and is believed to have produced more ‘South Bank Shows’ than any other independent. Topics have ranged from Hollywood icons (Dietrich, Bogart, Garbo) to Shakespeare (Hamlet, King Lear), to musicians (Evelyn Glennie, Christopher Hogwood), to writers (George Bernard Shaw, Noel Coward) among many others.

Fifth was The One and Only Michael Jackson for ITV, about the musical career of the controversial singer. Iambic’s trademarks are remarkable access and big entertainment documentaries, exemplified by this programme, which has already won an award in America.

Maria Callas – Living and Dying For Art and For Love was screened on BBC2 in 2004 and has been one of the most successful productions for Iambic to date. Super Troupers – 30 Years of Abba (ITV1, 2004) received 6.8 million viewers and was the most popular factual or entertainment programme broadcast that week.

In 2003, direct from the West End, Elaine Stritch was filmed ‘At Liberty’ in her Tony-award winning show, and gained three Emmys for direction, performance and best variety programme.

The South Bank Show: Greta Garbo – A Lone Star (2001) was based on the accounts of those who knew her well, lifting the veil of mystery surrounding the legendary star. Wallace and Gromit Go Chicken! for BBC1’s Omnibus, attracted record ratings for this strand. The 50 minute documentary followed the evolution of Aardman Animation from Morph to Wallace and Gromit and onto the big screen with the feature film ‘Chicken Run’.

Our 25th anniversary special of ABBA, The Abba Story (1999) gained an 11 million audience (over 50% share) on ITV, making it the highest rated programme ever in its genre, also acknowledged by receiving the Golden Camera Award from the US International Film and Video Festival. The James Bond Story, also broadcast by ITV 1999, was the definitive biography of James Bond, and was hugely popular. Chris Hunt and Trevor Nunn directed a new 35mm feature film of Oklahoma! (170mins) early in 1999, which won an International Emmy and several other awards (produced for Oklahoma Screen Productions Ltd).

1998 saw the production of a major biographical profile of the great comedian and entertainer Bob Hope. It followed the previous year’s award-winning look at silver screen gangster icon Humphrey Bogart. 1996 was spent making the multi award-winning programme about one of the most notorious actresses ever, Marlene Dietrich.