Jane Hudson

CPL to produce Ann Summers drama

CPL Productions logo

A new drama series focusing on the domestic lives of four Ann Summers party planners has been commissioned by ITV.

In what promises to be a “fresh, frank and funny” series, Brief Encounters follows four unlikely entrepreneurs whose lives are revolutionised by selling exotic lingerie.

Set in the early 1980s, Brief Encounters is inspired by the early chapters of Good Vibrations, the memoir of Ann Summers’ CEO Jacqueline Gold.

It is the first drama to be made for ITV by award-winning indie CPL Productions.

ITV’s big drama: Television speaks to drama boss Steve November

Steve November

On 18 September 2016, Steve November has a problem. At 9:00pm that night, the slot arrives in ITV’s schedule that would normally be filled by the season premiere of Downton Abbey.

As Director of Drama for the ITV network, November has to find a replacement – Downton is ending, with the last ever episode to air this coming Christmas Day. And, given Downton’s blockbuster ratings performance, it’s going to be a fiendishly difficult act to follow.