Optomen is an independent television production company part of Banijay UK, with Optomen Television Ltd. for the United Kingdom and Optomen Productions Inc. (launched in 2002) for the United States. It specializes in unscripted programming.
Broadcasting United Kingdom and the United States
Optomen produces a variety of television shows for United Kingdom broadcasters including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky1, Good Food and Discovery. In the United States, Optomen has produced directly for, or co-produced with, Fox, HBO, A&E, Discovery, TLC, PBS, and Food Network.
International
Optomen International is its distribution arm which sells its completed programmes worldwide, the most popular being The F Word, Kitchen Nightmares, Great British Menu, and Police Camera Action!.
List of programmes Title Broadcaster Transmission date Episodes Running time per episode Anatomy of Disgust Channel 4 2000 3 49 minutes Boy Meets Girl Channel 4 2001 3 49 minutes Can Animals Predict Disaster? PBS Nature 1 60 minutes Crazy Drivers Bravo 2003 13 25 minutes D-Day Despatches ITV 2004 5 15 minutes Eating With... BBC Two 8 30 minutes First Catch Your Hare: Hannah Glasse BBC Four 1 30 minutes Food Glorious Food ITV 2013 9 60 minutes French Leave Channel 4 2003 10 30 minutes Gangland Graveyard PBS/Channel 4 1 60 minutes Giada in Paradise Television Food Network 2 60 minutes Gordon Ramsay's F Word Channel 4 2005 9 60 minutes Great British Weddings Sky One 3 60 minutes Green: The New Red, White & Blue Discovery Channel 1 90 minutes Hell's Kitchen Fox 2005 60 minutes If You Can't Stand The Heat Channel 4 1999 It's A Girl Thing Channel 4 2001 6 24 minutes Japanese Schoolgirls Discovery Science 2 30 minutes Jump London Channel 4 Kitchen Criminals BBC Two 20 30 minutes Making Slough Happy BBC Two 2005 4 60 minutes Market Kitchen Good Food 2007 Mary Queen of Shops BBC Two 4 60 minutes MasterChef FOX 2010 60 minutes Mind of a Millionaire BBC Two 2003 4 60 minutes Most Evil Discovery Channel Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch CBBC 2015–2019 75 15 minutes Old Bear Stories Carlton Television 1993–1997 3 10 mins One Fat Lady, One Large Life BBC Two 1999 Police Camera Action! ITV 1994–2010 30 minutes The Princess Diaries ITV2 2025–present 12 60 minutes Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares Channel 4/Fox 2003 60 minutes Red Gold WNET/Thirteen/Channel 4 3 49 minutes Return of the Chef Channel 4 2005 8 30 minutes Role Reversal Arts & Entertainment Network 2003 1 120 minutes Saturday Cookbook ITV Breakfast 2012 21 44 minutes Secret Lives of Gypsy Wives Channel 4 2026 6 60 minutes Sex BC Channel 4 2002 2 49 minutes Spirituality Shopper Channel 4 2005 The Great British Menu BBC Two 80 30 minutes The Naked Chef BBC Two 1999 Two Fat Ladies BBC Two 1996–1999 24 30 minutes Two Men in a Trench BBC Two 2002–2004 12 50 minutes Tyler's Ultimate Food Network 2003 26 22 minutes Worst Cooks in America Food Network 2010 22 60 minutes You're Not the Man I Married Lifetime 13 30 minutes
Publications
Optomen has also published books to accompany the following programmes: The F Word, Great British Menu, Kitchen Nightmares, Two Fat Ladies, and The Naked Chef.
Awards The company has won many awards over the years, including an International Emmy, three BAFTAs, three Royal Television Society awards, three Indie awards, and two Glenfiddich awards.
Sale to All3Media
On 13 August 2010, it was announced that Optomen had been acquired by All3Media in a £40 million takeover. The agreement saw All3Media take control of Optomen along with its New York-based subsidiary Optomen Productions Inc and One Potato Two Potato, which was established as a joint venture with Gordon Ramsay.
References