Multi-award winning unscripted production house, STV Studios Factual, has today unveiled a new identity, with the label rebranding as North Star.
The Glasgow-based prodco behind hit shows such as Antiques Road Trip, The Beauty Queen and the Catfish, Murder Island and The Yorkshire Auction House has undergone the rebrand following the appointment of new Creative Director, Mark Hedgecoe, who joined earlier this month. The fresh identity reflects the label’s growth story and evolution in recent years to become a guiding light in factual programming.
Like one of the many unique treasures transformed by our Travelling Auctioneers team, it’s time for a refresh of our own. But while our name has changed, North Star’s commitment to creating bold, conversation-starting unscripted content is as strong as ever. Our new identity reflects our status as one of the UK’s most successful unscripted production businesses.”
Mark Hedgecoe, Creative Director, North Star
North Star is the UK’s leading producer of transactional formats, including the much-loved Auction House franchise for Quest and returning BBC favourites, The Travelling Auctioneers and Antiques Road Trip. The latter recently aired its 33rd series and has proven to be a global hit, with strong international tape sales.
The label has also built an impressive pedigree in premium documentary filmmaking, with credits including specialist factual investigations Disease X: Hunting the Next Pandemic (BBC) and What Killed the Whale? (Channel 4), alongside BBC observational documentaries, The Troops and The Firm.
Recent BBC Three true crime series, The Beauty Queen and the Catfish, was acclaimed by critics and has been nominated in the Factual Series category at the upcoming 2026 BAFTA Scotland Awards.
The team has achieved so much under the STV Studios Factual banner, not least building a stable of hugely popular, returning transactional brands that allow us to create regular employment opportunities for Scotland's brilliant freelance community. As we enter our next chapter as North Star, we have a renewed focus on bringing fresh ideas, world-class storytelling and returning hits to audiences across the UK and beyond.”
Mark Hedgecoe
Mark is joined in North Star’s senior team by Director of Development, Lucy Hazzard, and Director of Production, Sarah Forster, as well as Executive Producers, Rosy Marshall-McCrae and John Redshaw.
STV Studios Factual is the final legacy STV Studios label to rebrand, following the relaunch of STV Studios Drama as Blackhill earlier this year.
Headed up by CEO David Mortimer, the STV Studios group is also home to unscripted labels such as Primal Media (The Mob), Tuesday’s Child (The Hit List), Hello Halo (Game of Wool) and Crackit Productions (Casualty 24/7: Every Second Counts). Its scripted portfolio includes Blackhill (The Witness), Two Cities (Blue Lights), Tod Productions (Criminal Record) and Ferryman Films, led by actor and director Kevin McKidd.