ITN to expand into TV drama with stories 'ripped from the headlines'

Exclusive: The news provider recognises the popularity of 'docudramas'

Actor Jason Watkins as Christopher Jefferies in Peter Morgan's ITV drama 'The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies' (Carnival Film & Television Ltd)

ITN, the broadcast news provider, is planning a move into television drama production as part of a major expansion.

The producer of daily bulletins for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 will turn stories “ripped from the headlines” into popular dramas, which it plans to sell to broadcasters in the UK and abroad.

“Docudramas” are an increasingly popular television genre. ITV recently turned the story of Christopher Jefferies, the retired Bristol teacher wrongly arrested over the murder of architect Joanna Yeates, into an acclaimed two-part film, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies. It also produced a two-part docudrama in 2013 based on Lord Lucan’s disappearance.

ITN makes 'The Agenda', a topical chat show presented by Tom Bradby (Rex)

ITN believes its expertise in current affairs, and track record of breaking human interest stories through a global network of correspondents can be transferred into the dramatisation of big news events.

John Hardie, ITN chief executive, told The Independent: “Clearly there is an appetite out there for high-quality drama based on real events and real people. We think there is an opportunity to bring the authenticity of ITN’s standards of journalism to drama, so watch this space.”

ITN’s reporting for ITV News unmasked the first young Britons to fight in Iraq and Syria and their journey towards Jihad is the kind of story which might be suitable for dramatisation through the ITN Productions division.

The company’s revenues increased 44 per cent year-on-year to £16.7m, largely due to the success of ITN Productions, which makes factual programmes including Young Vets for BBC2 and The Secret Life of Pets for Channel 5, as well as The Agenda, the ITV topical chat show presented by Tom Bradby.

It is now targeting the US television market. Mr Hardie said: “We’ve only scratched the surface of our business expansion in television. We have our first major commission for a US broadcaster in Killer Instinct (a 10-part investigative series looking at ‘America’s most horrific crimes’ for Discovery ID.)”

Mr Hardie, former MD of Walt Disney Television’s European business, said: “ITN was in trouble six years ago so we looked at what we do best, which is delivering world-class television news. We created a strategy for using that capability in journalism to deliver high-quality factual programming, making fast-turnaround documentaries, quickly and cheaply.”

The business is also moving into advertising production. ITN’s clip for LEGO won the Cannes Lions Palme d’Or for the UK’s most watched ad break. Sport is another area of expansion. ITN produces live in-game clips and highlights packages for digital subscribers to The Sun and The Times under a deal with News UK.

However, the news producer remains hampered by its pension deficit, which rose 22.5 per cent to £98.5m. Pre-tax profits fell 24 per cent to £5m due to exceptional items being included in 2013, Mr Hardie said.

After the success of The Agenda, which has included the party leaders as panellists, ITN could try to replicate the type of late-night political satire show popular in the US.