What Larks Productions was set up in 2009 by filmmaker, Claire Whalley, and comedian and broadcaster, Jo Brand, to produce high quality arts, history, social documentaries, sitcoms and factual dramas and to touch on subjects in new, fresh ways that hadn’t been touched on before. The name is a phrase made popular by Charles Dickens’ Joe Gargery in his novel, Great Expectations. In 2012, Jo took a step back to focus on the third series of her award winning sitcom, Getting On, and Claire took over Jo’s share in the company.

What Larks’ programmes aim to look at the world from a slightly different angle – challenging our outlook on the world. We have a reputation for delivering fresh, revelatory, innovative and at times, irreverent programming both in terms of content and style. We care about maintaining a positive and sensitive approach to our diverse subjects and enjoy exploring ways of using humour in our film making.