Amanda Ross (television executive)

Amanda Ross ( Co-Founder & CEO of Cactus TV) on the set of 'Between The Covers' Series 7

Amanda Ross is a prominent British television executive known for her significant contributions to the television industry, particularly in developing long running formats, food and book-related programming.

She is co-founder and CEO of Cactus TV,[1] a production company she founded with her husband Simon Ross in 1994[1]. Cactus specialises in broad-based entertainment, features and chat shows, making programmes for many major UK broadcasters, including the BBC, ITV, UKTV and Channel 4.[2] In a recent Broadcast Independent Survey 2023, Cactus was ranked as the fourth biggest supplier to the BBC[3] and the fifth biggest supplier to ITV[4] by hours.

Always closely involved in her productions, Amanda has won a Royal Television Society Award[5] and been nominated for four others as a Producer and a Director.[6] Amanda has been instrumental in creating and maintaining many long running TV programme brands including Saturday Kitchen for over 18 years (2006 – ongoing), Between The Covers for 8 series (2020-ongoing), and Richard & Judy, 5 nights a week for 8 years (2001- 2009)[6].

Before founding her own production company, Amanda worked for many major TV companies, including ITV, BBC, and American channel VH1 - producing, presenting, and creating formats.[6]

She made her network debut as a presenter on the ITV Telethon in 1988 and has since hosted many shows including her own gameshow format Follow Your Nose (ITV, 1992)[7][8][9] and Intuition (Anglia, 1999)[10]. Most recently, she also hosted a live stage tour of Between The Covers[11], presented awards and made several podcast[12][13][14] and radio appearances[15].

  1. ^ a b "Cactus TV". productionbase.co.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Current & Recent Shows". cactustv.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  3. ^ Broadcast Magazine. "BBC: Whisper breaks into top three". Broadcast Indie Survey 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  4. ^ Broadcast Magazine. "ITV: ITVX yet to impact spending patterns". Broadcast - Indie Survey 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  5. ^ Woollett, Amy (17 June 2008). "Educational Television Awards 2007". Royal Television Society.
  6. ^ a b c "Cactus: Our Team". Cactus TV. 3 November 2024.
  7. ^ Beckwith, Adam (17 October 2021). "CITV Memories – Follow Your Nose". Adam's Nostalgic Memories. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Follow Your Nose CITV 1992 Doncaster Dome". Youtube - GuyOfTheEighties. 26 March 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Follow Your Nose". UK Game Shows. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  10. ^ King, Sally (27 April 1999). "Intuition To Be A Star". Basildon Echo. p. 27.
  11. ^ Spanoudi, Melina (21 March 2024). "Between the Covers takes to the road with a live version of the BBC Two series". The Bookseller. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  12. ^ Headley, David (24 May 2024). "The Queen Of Books: Amanda Ross". Spotify - Confessions of a Book Collector. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  13. ^ Ibrahim, Mex (5 October 2024). "Amanda Ross of Cactus TV : Podcast with Women In the Food Industry – WIFI Chats". Women In The Food Industry. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  14. ^ Seifert, Johnny (30 May 2024). "Amanda Ross: What happens behind the scenes on Saturday Kitchen | Spooning with Mark Wogan". Youtube - Virgin Radio UK. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  15. ^ Rani, Anita (31 May 2024). "Trump conviction, FGM ban at risk in Gambia, TV's Queen of Books". BBC Sounds - Woman's Hour. Retrieved 3 November 2024.