High-volume factual producer Topical Television has closed down after 31 years, with the commissioning slowdown among the key factors.
Set up in 1991 by Christopher Riley, whose LinkedIn profile now lists him as retired from his managing director role, the London-based indie has been part of the Avalon group since 2009.
It has produced almost 2,000 hours of network hours over the years and it has been a big supplier to the BBC in particular, with shows such as Real Rescues, Close Calls on Camera and daytime format Caught Red Handed (pictured), the 11th series of which is currently on air.
Topical also made Channel 4’s The £1 Houses: Britain’s Cheapest Street and Channel 5’s Brits in Bangkok.
Avalon has attributed Topical’s closure to “combination of factors including commission volumes, daytime tariffs unadjusted for inflation, as well as board changes due to retirement.”
The company employed four people and had a turnover of £1.6m in its last financial year of trading.
This story was first reported in Variety.
