Sony buys stake in TV production company Bad Wolf

The BBC One drama His Dark Materials is produced by Bad Wolf in Cardiff

Sony Pictures Television has bought a majority stake in the TV production company responsible for His Dark Materials for around £60m.

Bad Wolf was established in 2015 by former BBC executives Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner to make high-end dramas.

The company, which will co-produce Doctor Who with the BBC from 2023, is based in Cardiff.

The amount paid by Sony has not been disclosed but is understood to be between £50m to £60m.

Russell T Davies will also be the showrunner for Dr Who from 2023

Sony's investment is not expected to change the ethos of the production company, which has a strong Welsh base and has been credited with boosting Wales's reputation for television production.

The Bad Wolf Studio is housed in a former glassworks on an industrial estate in the city's Splott area and has been used to film His Dark Materials and Industry for the BBC as well as A Discovery of Witches for Sky.

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While at the BBC both Tranter and Gardner were instrumental in reviving Doctor Who in 2005 and basing its production in Cardiff Bay to make high-end dramas.

From 2023 the executives will reunite with former showrunner Russel T Davies to co-produce the series with the BBC.