Edinburgh TV Festival 2025

Sarah Richards is a Creative and Art Director at Karta specialising in branded gaming experiences. She works with global clients like Hugo Boss and Adidas to bring their worlds to life on platforms like Roblox and Fortnite. With a background in visual storytelling and a passion for blending narrative, gameplay and brand, she focuses on how TV, music and culture can come together in new, engaging ways.

Mariel is Head of Digital Development at the BBC, shaping the digital and social portfolio for TV. Her brief is to drive innovation and maximise creative opportunities for some of the BBC's biggest titles. She has commissioned gaming activations for Rap Game UK in Fortnite and BBC Wonder Chase in Roblox.

Rory Newton Dunn is Head of Digital at Rocket Entertainment, leading the digital strategy for Elton John. He has spearheaded groundbreaking campaigns, including Elton John: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road on Roblox. The experience and concert, which was the first to bridge a digital and physical concert experience ever, launched as the highest-rated concert experience and with one of the best-selling creator emotes. Rory works across music, touring, philanthropy, and brand partnerships, ensuring Elton's digital storytelling reaches established and new audiences across digital platforms, amplifying his legacy through innovative experiences.

Tom O'Brien is the MD of Naked TV. He is an EMMY, RTS and Broadcast Award winning Executive Producer and originator who helped grow Naked from a small indie to one of the largest production companies in the UK, who currently produce The Apprentice (BBC), The Rap Game UK (BBC), Grand Designs (Channel 4), Couple to Throuple (NBC Peacock), Buying London (Netflix) Brian Cox: Made of Money (Channel 5) and programming for Discovery, Amazon and TLC. With a focus on innovation and creativity first and foremost, he has helped steer the company through start-up, acquisition, merger, the COVID years, now to its current position as a market leader in unscripted formats and documentary programming. The Fortnite x Rap Game UK crossover was nominated for a Broadcast Digital and International Webby Award.

Elle Osili-Wood is one of the most exciting and influential presenters in British television, described by BAFTA as “an industry go-to” for entertainment’s most high-profile shows and events. An award-winning broadcaster, Elle’s vibrant on-screen presence has seen her front a wide range of television and radio for ITV and the BBC, covering everything from the Oscars to the Royal Coronation. Honoured as a BAFTA Breakthrough in television, and ARIA-nominated, Elle has cemented her reputation as a leading voice in entertainment, where her extensive career includes joining Jonathan Ross for the ITV broadcast of the Oscars, presenting the BFI Future Film Awards, and fronting entertainment programmes for the BBC, as well as hosting premieres, awards shows, and red carpet events for the likes of Netflix, Amazon, and BAFTA, where she is a four-time BAFTA Awards host.

Tranter is one of the industry’s most respected and celebrated television executives.
 
A recipient of the Bafta Special Award for her contribution to television, Tranter previously served as the BBC’s Controller of Drama and subsequently Controller of Fiction, before moving to Los Angeles to found and run production companies BBC Worldwide Productions and Adjacent Productions for BBC Worldwide.  
 
In 2015, she returned to the UK and with Julie Gardner founded the production company Bad Wolf, headquartered in Wolf Studios in Cardiff, with the purpose of creating ambitious, imaginative and relevant drama for UK, US and global television audiences.  
 
Tranter’s credits for Bad Wolf include the multiple Emmy Award-winning series’ “The Night Of”, three seasons each of BAFTA-winning series “His Dark Materials” and “Industry”, three seasons of the hugely popular “A Discovery of Witches” and two seasons of the BAFTA-winning “I Hate Suzie” and “Doctor Who”.  Recent releases include an adaptation of Bernard Cornwell’s “The Winter King” and “Dope Girls”.  Currently in production is a fourth season of “Industry” for HBO, a second season of “Red Eye” for ITV and new dramas “The Other Bennet Sister” for BBC/BritBox and “The War Between the Land and the Sea” for BBC and Disney Branded Television. Future projects include “Berlin Noir”, a drama based on Metropolis from Philip Kerr’s best-selling book series for Apple, co-produced with Playtone and starring Jack Lowden. 
 
In addition to the above, Tranter was also an Executive Producer on the multiple award-winning series “Succession”. 
 
In 2025 she was made a CBE in the King’s birthday honour’s list for her contribution to the television industry.

Michael Sheen is a multi-award-winning Welsh actor and RADA graduate, known for his extensive work across film, TV and stage, as well as his charity work. His vast film credits include the role of David Frost in Ron Howard’s feature FROST/NIXON; Tony Blair in Stephen Frears’ THE QUEEN; Aro in THE TWILIGHT SAGA; and Thomas Vinterberg’s adaptation of FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD. Michael’s numerous TV credits include THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP (HBO), where he resumed the role of Tony Blair; Dr. Bill Masters in the acclaimed Showtime series MASTERS OF SEX; Andy De Emmony’s KENNETH WILLIAMS: FANTABULOSA!; Aziraphale in the adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s GOOD OMENS (Amazon); and BBC’s BEST INTERESTS from Jack Thorne. Michael’s many notable appearances on stage include AMADEUS (Old Vic), FROST/NIXON (Donmar Warehouse), and HAMLET (Young Vic). He created, co-directed, and performed in the ground-breaking three-day live event THE PASSION IN PORT TALBOT for National Theatre Wales. Michael starred in UNDER MILK WOOD at the National Theatre and in 2022 he performed at The Sydney Opera House in AMADEUS. Michael was recently on stage in NYE (National Theatre), the surreal adaptation of the life of Aneurin Bevan.

Sam is a Founder of Cold Glass Productions and its Director of Production. The company combines marketing, social, and editorial expertise to create new programmes for digital platforms. CGP is focused on the huge opportunity for talent-led media brands that combine longform entertainment and short-form marketing moments, stretching across podcasting, YouTube, social channels and live events. Sam’s clients are both celebrities and brands for whom she uses her experience from 25 years in the media. She has a real skill at understanding her clients’ needs and translating them into productions that work commercially and editorially. Sam was part of the core team to win the commission of Dish from Waitrose for whom she paired the hosts Angela Hartnett and Nick Grimshaw. Nick and Angela are the perfect hosts combining broadcast brilliance and culinary expertise to create an inviting dinner party that our guests rarely want to leave. Nick’s cooking curiosity is matched with Angela’s mouth-watering food and her humble but confident tips and recipes inspire guests and listeners alike, leading to funny and candid interviews with everyone from Gordon Ramsay to Judi Love and Dua Lipa. Dish from Waitrose is now 3 years old and has extended into live events and experiences. Sam is currently working on two more celebrity led digital shows due to launch before the end of the year.

Bronagh Monahan is the co-founder of MonRae, a creative studio she launched with business partner Elspeth Rae. Together, they manage and create IP with leading digital talent-from global names like DanTDM and TommyInnit to emerging voices such as Nicole Vignola, Julie Lin, and Twiggy Jalloh. In 2021, they launched MonRae Productions to bridge the gap between digital creators and traditional TV. Their credits include the hit series Challenge DanTDM and over 100 episodes of Let's Game for Sky Kids. In 2025, they expanded into publishing with MonRae Editions, a creator-led book division driven by their shared passion for storytelling. Early successes include the Sunday Times bestseller TommyInnit's Guide to Survival and Julie Lin's debut cookbook SAMA SAMA. Bronagh began her career at Gleam Futures UK, the home of top-tier creators including Zoella, Caspar Lee, and Dr Julie Smith. She later joined BBC Studios' TalentWorks as Development Executive, where she helped develop No Passion No Point with Eddie Hearn and ran a creative retreats with names like Amelia Dimoldenberg, Adrian Bliss, and Daniel Howell. Named a "quiet powerhouse in the world of digital talent" by Grazia, Bronagh specialises in building long-term careers, developing commercial IP, and connecting digital and traditional media worlds.

As Director of Culture & Experience, Lorna ensures that the People’s Postcode Lottery culture and corporate storytelling remain consistent across the organisation. She is dedicated to crafting exceptional experiences that inspire both our team members and our winners. As one of the organisation’s founding team members, Lorna has played a pivotal role in its development and long-term success. In her previous positions as Managing Director and Head of Marketing, she was instrumental in establishing People’s Postcode Lottery as a recognised and trusted brand across the UK. Lorna’s background in broadcast and commercial advertising has significantly contributed to the organisation’s public profile. Prior to joining People’s Postcode Lottery, she held the role of Commercial Producer at the national broadcaster STV, where she gained extensive experience in advertising and media strategy.

Bryony spent five years producing global news for the BBC, before moving into long form documentaries for BBC Three. Her work covered social issues relevant for youth audiences. Bryony moved to LADBible where she oversaw Branded, Originals and sponsored content across factual, ents and sport - notably reinventing the way digital production was run and running award winning campaigns for Visit Britain, Disney+ and Durex. Bryony oversaw YouTube's answer to Big Brother for Footasylum at Cowshed Collective before joining Strong Watch Studios, a digital label backed by TV Production company Hat Trick Productions. Since being in role, Bryony has redefined the art of digital production, implementing workflows that maximize budgets without compromising on quality for the likes of BBC, C4, ITVX, CNN, Superdrug, JD Sports to name a few. Bryony is passionate about incorporating TV values to digital production (sustainability, duty of care, fair wages amongst others) whilst finding new and innovative routes to do so.

Laura Marks is the Senior Commissioning Editor and Business Operations Lead for Digital at Channel 4 and works across Original and Branded Entertainment content.  Laura has been responsible for digital successes such as Bafta Nominated and Broadcast winning Kingpin Cribs, Broadcast winning the Boy Who Climbed The Shard, Broadcast winning Mission Accessible, Unseen Kingdoms, Nasty Neighbours, Would You Rather, How To Get Rich, The B@it, True Stories and the C4’s new factual short form investigation strands In Too Deep and Life Uncovered. Previously Laura acted as Nations and Regions Executive Producer at the Channel, nurturing indies in the Digital, Entertainment and Comedy space. Before working at Channel 4, Laura was the Digital Commissioning Editor at BBC Three, working with independent production companies in the UK across all genres including scripted. 

I am a self taught YouTube & talent strategist with a creator first approach, my most recent role was building and running the YouTube function at JD Sports. I believe that YouTube and creator led content is the future of online therefore the sheer scale of what is possible makes it thee most exciting platform. Over the past few years I have worked across multiple YouTube channels; launching and flipping them to build engaged communities online. My consultancy, Chlo & Co. is a strategic agency built to get you active, growing and building on YouTube. We partner with brands and creators who want to be at the forefront of the digital world building a narrative and presence through long form content. Creators are more powerful than ever, therefore we specialise in a creator first approach meaning that we bring creators into your brand to build organic connection resulting in more engaging content. We are at the forefront of the creator first economy and understand not only how the landscape os changing but how your brand can build connection and ROI from it through effective creator partnerships and long form content.

Rylan is a versatile and accomplished British television and radio presenter, known for his dynamic presence across a wide range of entertainment formats. He first came to national prominence as a finalist on The X Factor in 2012, and quickly transitioned into a successful presenting career. Over the past decade, he's become a familiar face on UK television, fronting major shows like Big Brother's Bit on the Side, This Morning, and Strictly: It Takes Two. Rylan has also made a mark in broadcasting through his work on BBC Radio 2, where his charisma and wit have made him a favourite with listeners. In 2024, Rylan took on one of his most high-profile roles yet as the new host of The Grand Tour on the BBC, showcasing his ability to helm large-scale productions with confidence and humour. His work has not only won over audiences but also earned critical acclaim - now nominated for a BAFTA, a testament to his and the show's impact and credibility. With a proven track record across entertainment, factual, and live formats, Rylan has firmly established himself as one of the UK's most impressive and in-demand presenters.

Katie Benbow is Director of Strategy for BBC Studios' Unscripted production business, overseeing content strategy and investment across the genre and working with the world’s leading Entertainment, Specialist Factual and Documentary makers. Katie loves TV and has built her career around her passion - bringing her editorial and commercial skills together through previous roles as Head of Acquisitions for BBC Studios’ international channels and Director of Sales Planning. As Director of Programming – EMEA, she broke new ground commissioning BBC Brit Poland’s first ever local production, Spakowane Zycie (“Packed up life”), and the first series of BBC Lifestyle’s First Dates South Africa. Katie is also a passionate advocate for flexible work and supporting working families.

Francesca the founder of Table41, a development, consultancy and finance agency that serves as an incubator for new projects across the factual, fact ent and unscripted genres, alongside premium factual, limited drama and documentary series. She was Director, Development and Production at National Geographic and worked at the factual giant for eleven years, overseeing London based projects in development for the linear channels and Disney+, and working with network heads in Asia, Europe and Latin to identify strategic international co-pro opportunities and help manage locally produced content. Francesca is Executive Producer on Heroes of the Sky: The Real Mighty Eighth Air Force, 9/11: Control the Skies, and India From Above, a two part series narrated by Dev Patel that won best documentary series at the Asian Academy of Creative Awards. Most recently, Johnson served as exec VP of content at Anyway Content, where she was responsible for building the start-up’s unscripted business and driving its scripted and unscripted development slate. She is a member of BAFTA and the British Screen Advisory Council, and has served as a judge for the Broadcast Awards panel.  She was recognised as a 2018 Hot Shot by Broadcast magazine, named a future leader in the Business sector.

Jack Newman is the co-founder and managing director of Bullion Productions, a creative production studio with offices in London and Amsterdam. Bullion initially made its mark by producing award winning music videos, short-form branded content, and high-profile TV commercials. Bullion has expanded its portfolio to include scripted comedy, and factual entertainment. Jack views the company as uniquely positioned at the intersection of advertising and television, and he is actively exploring new business opportunities in brand-funded programming. He is also a strong advocate for social and environmental responsibility, leading Bullion to achieve B-Corp certification in 2023. Before founding Bullion, Jack built a successful career as a producer and cinematographer, working on award-winning projects for Vice, Partizan, and the BBC, among others. Having worked his way up from a runner, he brings a deep appreciation for all industry roles, which informs his leadership style today.

Stephanie is an award-winning, Emmy-nominated creative executive with a passion for shaping cultural impact through brand storytelling. As head of the global content and integration execution team at BENlabs, she spearheads strategic product placement and entertainment partnership initiatives across iconic brand portfolios—including General Motors, Microsoft, Frito-Lay, Dr Pepper, Dunkin’ Donuts, Pernod Ricard, and Canva. Her work bridges entertainment and commerce in ways that resonate authentically with audiences worldwide. Prior to joining BENlabs, Stephanie spent nearly a decade at Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Marketing, where she held pivotal roles in both Integrated Marketing and International TV Publicity. As brand manager, she oversaw partnerships and positioning for some of TV’s most beloved series: The Big Bang Theory, Two & A Half Men, Chuck, One Tree Hill, The O.C., Supernatural, Veronica Mars, and others. Her entertainment roots run deep, beginning on set as a producer’s assistant in both film and television—giving her an insider’s understanding of storytelling from production to promotion. Stephanie is a passionate consumer of content and will happily engage in any conversation about the brilliance of the industry.

Kate Harwood began her career in drama at the Royal Court Theatre before moving to the BBC in 1990 where she worked in in house production as script editor, producer, Executive Producer and latterly Head of Drama Production, England. Her career included productions such as David Copperfield, Holding On, Daniel Deronda, Cranford and the BAFTA winning Charles II. She also ran EastEnders from 2005-6 As Head of Drama Production she oversaw shows such as Luther, Slient Witness and Lark Rise to Candleford amongst many others. From 2014 - 2024 she was Managing Director of Euston Films and they made Hard Sun, Dublin Murders, Baghdad Central, The Sister, Wreck and Nightsleeper in that time. In 2025 she joined Element Pictures as an Executive Producer

Rebecca is the SVP of Scripted Content for Global Drama and Fremantle International, where she oversees all Scripted programming at Fremantle. Working closely with Fremantle's Drama Producers, development teams and a growing number of independent producers worldwide, Rebecca is responsible for sourcing IP that can build on Fremantle’s already impressive portfolio and be distributed worldwide. In addition to overseeing a growing pipeline, a core part of her role is to strategically help realise innovative funding models to achieve growing production budgets and ultimately deliver commercial success for the business and our partners. Rebecca is a creative EP on several Fremantle backed projects with the goal of maximising the international success of each show worldwide. Building on Fremantle’s impressive portfolio of scripted content, new projects under her remit include real-time action thriller Nightsleeper, epic fantasy drama War of the Kingdoms and suspenseful psychological thriller Little Disasters. Rebecca joined Fremantle in 2015 from BBC Studios and in her tenure has worked on a range of projects including The Responder, My Brilliant Friend, Alice and Jack, Big Mood and The Young Pope. She previously held commercial roles at BBC Studios, Shine International and Shed Media Group where she worked across Scripted series such as Broadchurch, The Tunnel and TinStar and Non-Scripted brands including One Born Every Minute, 24 Hours in A&E, Who Do You Think You Are.

Brad Argent has worked for Ancestry since early 2007. He is currently based in London and his work focuses on Ancestry Studios where he and the team are responsible for the development and production of broadcast and digital content across all markets - working with iconic shows such as Who Do You Think You Are?, UnFamiliar, Every Family Has a Secret, Long Lost Family, and DNA Journey. He spends most of his time behind the camera, but you might see his face on the screen from time to time.

Mark Young is EVP Distribution & Networks for Europe, Middle East & Africa at Sony Pictures Television (SPT) where he has worked for 18 years. During this time, he has held senior distribution roles, managing sales teams across a raft of countries and regions including the UK, Western Europe, Central Eastern Europe, Africa, and CIS. Within this duration, Mark was also based in Sydney for 3.5 years heading up the Australia and New Zealand TV Distribution division and prior to this successfully set-up the Dubai office to manage the Middle Eastern territory. Since 2021, in his current role Mark has led the TV Distribution, Media Networks and Home Entertainment units across the whole of the EMEA region. Prior to joining Sony, Mark held various roles at British Sky Broadcasting Limited, Chello Media, Granada Sky Broadcasting, and Nynex Cablecomms Ltd.

Joséphine is VP of Scripted Acquisitions and Co-Productions at STUDIO TF1 where she is charged with acquisitions and co-productions in Scandinavia as well as expanding the company's English-language portfolio, building strong relationships with global anglophone producers and acquiring and co-producing high-quality English-language scripted content principally from the UK, US and Australia that resonates with audiences worldwide.

Most recently, she led the team negotiating a partnership with Jude Law’s Riff Raff Entertainment, aimed at developing original scripted projects and tapping into new creative talent.

Joséphine has extensive experience in the entertainment industry. Before joining STUDIO TF1, she was previously senior global content executive - scripted at ITV Studios where she managed one-on-one relationships with production companies on behalf of ITV Studios, including UK and international based producers. Before that, she was account executive – Italy, scripted & kids at BBC Studios.

STUDIO TF1 is one of Europe’s leading production and distribution companies (a TF1 Group Company). The business boasts a rich slate that includes over 800 feature films and 18,000 hours of TV content spanning all genres, including scripted series, documentaries, and animation that has been created by both its in-house production teams and third-party global producers.

As Chief Creative Officer, Richard oversees the content pipeline servicing all of UKTV's brands and, alongside his UKTV commissioning remit, he has responsibility for BBC Studios' and UKTV's global acquisitions team, overseeing all content acquisition activity across BBC Studios' Branded Services and UKTV's portfolio of channels. Prior to these roles, Richard was UKTV's Director of Commissioning, leading their award-winning commissioning team for nine years and has been praised for spearheading UKTV's successful originations strategy which has transformed its reputation in the industry. He and his team of programme-makers-turned-commissioners produce bold, brand-defining programmes across comedy and entertainment, factual, factual entertainment and drama. In his time leading the commissioning team he's focused on strengthening talent and indie relationships while overseeing a huge expansion of output in both volume and genres. During his tenure he's delivered a five-fold increase in the number of shows UKTV commissions, pushed into drama origination and delivered viewing records on every one of the network’s services. Richard and his team have been responsible for stand-out drama and entertainment hits such as Traces, The Marlow Murder Club, Bergerac, Annika, Bookish, Outrageous, Meet The Richardsons, BAFTA winning and Emmy nominated Taskmaster, Dynamo Magician Impossible and Dave Gorman Modern Life is Goodish. In factual and fact ent, major successes include BAFTA winning Big Zuu’s Big Eats, Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake, Will & Ralf Should Know Better, Emma Willis: Delivering Babies, Inside the Ambulance and multiple strands of the Bangers & Cash franchise. Throughout his career, Richard has taken a leading role in initiatives to re-shape the industry and transform on and off-screen representation. He is currently Chair of Action for Freelancers, the pan-industry collaboration set up to address the issues facing the TV freelance community, and of the Creative Diversity Network, whose role in monitoring and promoting representation has helped establish the British TV industry as a global leader in diversity.

Bella Maclean is a prominent rising star in both film and television. Having trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama Bella went on to star in in a leading role at the National Theatre in LONDON TIDE, a thrilling musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend. Previously, in theatre, Bella has led a revered production of SPRING AWAKENING at The Almeida Theatre. Bella has recently received widespread attention for her role as Taggie in RIVALS for Disney+ and Hulu. Bella will reprise her role in RIVALS season two which is currently in production. Previous on-screen credits also include a role in the hit NETFLIX show SEX EDUCATION.

Dominic started his television career working out new ways for characters to die on ITV's Midsomer Murders. From there he moved to Channel 5's Family Affairs, eventually running the story department and producing the show. Dominic later joined BBC's EastEnders as Story Producer for four years before a stint at Kudos' Lovely Day, developing ITV's Grantchester and BBC's Man in an Orange Shirt. In 2015 he returned to EastEnders as Executive Producer, bringing Danny Dyer and his family into the Queen Vic and creating the show's iconic 'Who Killed Lucy?' storyline which climaxed after a year with a week of live episodes, reaching over 20 million viewers and winning BAFTA, RTS, NTA, MIND, British Soap and Attitude awards. Dominic then went on to join Blueprint Pictures as Head of Television, Executive Producing A Very English Scandal, starring Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw, written by Russell T Davies and directed by Stephen Frears, winning Golden Globe, Emmy, Critics Choice, Rose D'Or, RTS and BAFTA awards. Dominic joined ITV Studios in December 2019 to launch his own label, Happy Prince. At Happy Prince Dominic co-wrote and developed Graham Norton's Holding for ITV, Virgin Media and Acorn TV with Karen Cogan. Exec Produced Jamie Davis' You & Me with Russell T Davies and Alex Lamb for ITV. Dominic is also lead writer and Exec Producing Jilly Cooper's Rivals with Laura Wade for Disney+

Emily Atack is known for her breakout role in Disney+'s Rivals, the BAFTA award winning sit com The Inbetweener's; she is also the creator and star of her own ITV stand up sketch show: The Emily Atack Show. She is an activist and campaigner, a proud advocate for Women's Safety - her critically acclaimed documentary Emily Atack: Asking For It (BBC) looked at sexual harassment on Instagram which has in turn lead her to Parliament where she campaigns for reform around the subject. Emily can currently be seen playing the infamous Sarah Stratton in Disney +'s adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel, Rivals, which will begin filming its second series later this year.

Angellica began her career at the BBC in early 2000, becoming the face of Children’s BBC (CBBC). During that time, she was twice shortlisted in the Best Presenter category at the Children’s BAFTAs. Whilst at CBBC, she became well-known for presenting live continuity links on BBC One and for hosting nostalgic children’s shows such as K Club, Short Change, 50/50, That’s Genius, and The Saturday Show. Successfully transitioning to mainstream television, Angellica has since co-presented and reported for The One Show (BBC One), fronts the daytime coverage of RHS Chelsea Flower Show (BBC One), hosted the consumer series Ill Gotten Gains (BBC One), and co-presented the BAFTA-nominated financial programme The Martin Lewis Money Show (ITV). A major highlight of her career was winning Celebrity MasterChef (BBC One) in 2017, which led to her publishing her first cookbook aimed at young people: Fantastic Eats and How to Cook Them! published by Quadrille in 2019. Angellica has had radio shows on BBC Radio 3, Magic Radio and fronted the Hits Radio Breakfast Show for most of last year as maternity cover and also had a two-week stint covering on Radio 2 at the begiining of this year. In April, Angellica appeared on Celebrity Big Brother (ITV1), celebrating 25 years since her CBBC debut while participating as a housemate.

Alex plays the leading role of Rupert Campbell-Black in the Disney+ series RIVALS. He played the leading role of Ross in Joel Coen's acclaimed THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH for A24/Apple TV+, opposite Frances McDormand and Denzel Washington. His other credits include EVERYTHING NOW on Netflix, YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA for Disney+, and Universal feature film VIOLENT NIGHT. He played the leading role of Vicious in the Netflix show COWBOY BEBOP, and Louis in SUBURBICON, directed by George Clooney. Other film work includes Gideon Raff's THE RED SEA DIVING RESORT, and Roland Emmerich's ANONYMOUS. TV work includes the BBC's THE MINIATURIST, HIS DARK MATERIALS, and THE BOYS for Amazon. On stage, Alex played Prince Hal in HENRY IV Parts I and II, and the title role in HENRY V for the RSC. Other stage work includes THE HUNT at St Ann's Warehouse, Caryl Churchill's PIGS & DOGS at The Royal Court, DEATH OF A SALESMAN opposite Antony Sher and Harriet Walter, and David Hare's I'M NOT RUNNING for The National Theatre. Alex trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He is a co-founder of The Factory Theatre Company whose patrons include Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy, Mark Rylance and Emma Thompson

As Director of Commissioning Hilary leads UKTV's team of commissioners, overseeing a growing slate of original scripted and unscripted content such as new drama series Outrageous, Bergerac and I, Jack Wright and the award-winning Emma Willis Delivering Babies and Big Zuu's Big Eats. She was original commissioner of Dave's BAFTA-winning Taskmaster. Hilary began her career in BBC News & Current Affairs, as a researcher on Panorama, before moving to the independent production sector, firstly at Lion Television as Senior Executive Producer, and later as Creative Director at Silver River Productions. Hilary was recently appointed deputy chair of the BAFTA Board of Trustees and will succeed the chair in autumn 2026, helping oversee the delivery of BAFTA's mission as an arts charity to champion creatives and practitioners working in film, games and TV. She joined the BAFTA Television Committee in 2021 and has been chair for the last two years, alongside becoming a Board Trustee. Hilary regularly chairs industry events and taskforces, including Film and TV Charity's Mentally Healthy Productions initiative, and has led roundtables combatting antisemitism and islamophobia in the industry. She has been a consultant for BBC Academy and is a mentor for women in television.

Helen is Head of Factual and Factual Entertainment Commissioning at UKTV where her commissions span across channels U&Dave, U&W, U&YESTERDAY and U&GOLD. Since joining the multi-channel broadcaster in 2015, Helen has commissioned a wide range of popular titles including Emma Willis: Delivering Babies and Gemma and Gorka: Life Behind The Lens for U&W, French and Saunders: Funny Women and Paul Whitehouse's Sketch Show Years for U&GOLD, and Secrets of the London Underground and Find It Fix It Flog It for U&YESTERDAY. Her recent commissions include Guy Martin's Proper Jobs for U&Dave, Pete Wicks for Dogs' Sake for U&W, which became the channel's highest-rating unscripted premiere since 2016 and has been recommissioned for a further two series, and the upcoming World's Most Amazing Walks with Robson Green for U&YESTERDAY. Prior to joining UKTV, Helen was Head of Factual at Gogglebox Entertainment where she executive produced Singing In The Rainforest for Watch and Young War Widows for ITV. Before that, she was Head of Popular Factual at IWC Media executive producing shows such as Location, Location, Location for Channel 4, and Extreme Fishing with Robson for Channel 5.

Helen Perry is UKTV's Head of Drama and leads the broadcaster's growing slate of original drama, which includes the reimagining of Bergerac, now in production for a second season, Outrageous bringing the true story of the Mitford sisters to screen, and The Marlow Murder Club, for U&DRAMA. Since joining UKTV Helen has commissioned Mark Gatiss' Bookish, a second season of which was ordered before the season one premiere, Mudtown a co-commission with S4C, and overseen Chris Lang's murder mystery family drama, I, Jack Wright, for U&alibi. Prior to UKTV, Helen was a Commissioning Editor for Drama at ITV where she worked on original dramas such as Mr Bates vs The Post Office and Playing Nice, alongside returning series such as DI Ray, Professor T, The Bay and Grantchester. Before ITV, Helen was an Assistant Commissioner for BBC Drama working across development and production, and exec-ing Steeltown Murders and The Pact. Prior to that Helen was Script Executive at Bad Wolf on the HBO/BBC drama Industry. Helen has also worked as a Development Producer for BBC Writers' Room and she began her career as an award-winning audio drama producer/director creating original dramas for BBC Radio and BBC Sounds.

Emma Cox is a freelance journalist who writes for publications including Radio Times, tabloids and broadsheets. She also produces press materials and moderates panels for all of the big PSBs and streamers, and is currently writing her first novel.

John McVay OBE is the Chief Executive of Pact the UK's leading Trade Association for Film, TV, Animation, Children's and Digital production companies. John contributes to many UK government and international policy fora on the creative industries, broadcasting, trade and investment. John has extensive experience of policy development across all aspects of broadcasting and television production and leads on all Pact policy development in the UK and Europe. He also maintains excellent relationships with all of the UK's major political parties and the devolved assemblies and parliaments. John is currently; a Board member of the Creative Diversity Network, a member of the Creative Industries Council (CIC), an industry advisor to the AHRC Creative Industries programme, Industry board member of the British Film Commission, a board member of the Creative Cities Convention and is industry lead on UK Govt backed £500m Production Restart scheme.

Bryony spent five years producing global news for the BBC, before moving into long form documentaries for BBC Three. Her work covered social issues relevant for youth audiences. Bryony moved to LADBible where she oversaw Branded, Originals and sponsored content across factual, ents and sport - notably reinventing the way digital production was run and running award winning campaigns for Visit Britain, Disney+ and Durex. Bryony oversaw YouTube's answer to Big Brother for Footasylum at Cowshed Collective before joining Strong Watch Studios, a digital label backed by TV Production company Hat Trick Productions. Since being in role, Bryony has redefined the art of digital production, implementing workflows that maximize budgets without compromising on quality for the likes of BBC, C4, ITVX, CNN, Superdrug, JD Sports to name a few. Bryony is passionate about incorporating TV values to digital production (sustainability, duty of care, fair wages amongst others) whilst finding new and innovative routes to do so.

Fiona Campbell is Controller, Youth Audience, BBC iPlayer & BBC Three. As well as holding overall responsibility for content commissioning aimed at 16-35s, Fiona works across BBC Content to amplify the impact of key BBC iPlayer programmes on gaming platforms such as Roblox and Fortnite. Fiona is also the BBC Content Lead for the application of Gen AI in audience facing content. Earlier in her career Fiona worked as a producer on Panorama and spent time reporting in conflict zones Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo. She also spent five years as a Commissioning Editor at Channel 4 News. Fiona is a Trustee of Comic Relief and the Burberry Foundation which supports projects to encourage young people's creativity as a source of progression and mental wellbeing. Fiona also works with Speakers for Schools visiting colleges in Northern Ireland to meet students and encourage their consideration of media as a career path.

Louisa Compton is Head of News and Current Affairs and Specialist Factual and Sport at Channel 4. She oversees Channel 4 News, Dispatches, Unreported World and Untold. She has set up an in-house investigations unit and launched Untold, aimed at bringing current affairs to 16-34-year-olds. She was behind the recent Dispatches investigation into Russell Brand, the Tokyo and Paris Paralympics and coverage of the 2024 UK and US elections.

Simon Heath's drama career has spanned 32 years, 28 of them with World Productions. Simon has executive produced multiple RTS award-winning shows, including Save Me and Line of Duty, has been nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for Bodyguard, won an International Emmy for Vigil, and won the BAFTA for Save Me Too in 2021. Born and bred in Birmingham, Simon's break into the industry came as script editor on the Geordie teen drama Byker Grove. Simon joined World Productions in 1997, where he was made Head of Drama in 2002 and has run the company since 2009. During this time, World was named Production Company of the year at the Broadcast Awards in 2019 and 2022, and at the Edinburgh Television Festival in 2019. Simon's recent credits include The Bombing of Pan Am 103 (which won the Audience Prize at the Monte Carlo TV Festival) two seasons of legal drama Showtrial, medical thriller Malpractice, the double Scottish BAFTA winning Karen Pirie and Until I Kill You (for which Anna Maxwell Martin won Best Actress at the RTS Awards) and C4 drama The Gathering. Simon was awarded an RTS Fellowship in 2021.

Ben Zand is a British-Iranian filmmaker, journalist and director, and the founder and CEO of ZANDLAND - a fully independent, multichannel production company at the forefront of digital-first storytelling. ZANDLAND works with global streamers, European broadcasters and international brands including Hulu, Channel 4, and The Royal Foundation of Prince William. Known for bold, access-led documentaries, Ben's work explores everything from incel culture and drug cartels to billionaires, political power players and conflict zones - always with a human-first lens. Alongside its commissioned work, ZANDLAND is investing in its own self-funded original IP, betting on a direct-to-audience future. In September 2025, the company launches Human - a monthly YouTube series featuring premium, character-led stories from around the world. The first season includes episodes filmed in the Central African rainforest, Gaza, South Africa and Brazil, offering raw, intimate insights into the lives of people often overlooked by traditional media. Ben's work has won international awards and been viewed by tens of millions globally. With ZANDLAND, he's redefining what independent documentary can be - combining global ambition, digital innovation, and journalistic rigour to tell the stories that matter in new, boundary-pushing ways.

Ros Atkins is the BBC’s Analysis Editor, who’s videos “Ros Atkins on…” have been lauded around the globe for reinventing news reporting. Ros helps the audience navigate and understand complex issues, providing them with a context and understanding of the most pressing stories. His hugely popular book The Art of Explanation guides the readers on how to communicate with clarity and confidence using tools he developed over the years and uses himself to create his popular videos. His podcast Communicating with Ros Atkins saw him interview leaders in their field about their techniques from Tina Brown, Martin Lewis and Rob Brydon.

Kaio Grizzelle is a Digital Commissioning Executive at Channel 4, where he commissions original, unscripted entertainment programmes for the broadcaster's youth-focused, award-winning digital brand Channel 4.0. He has been working with digital talent and creators to build channels and create premium entertainment on YouTube since 2017. Kaio was recognised as a Broadcast Hotshot in 2023 for commissioning and is part of the TV Collective's 2025 Breakthrough Leaders cohort.

Art Sejdiu is Head of Commissioning Development at Channel 4. Working across the full content slate, he works closely with genre heads, commissioners, and indies pitching new ideas - with a focus on identifying major new unscripted projects and new opportunities for development across the slate. Alongside this, Sejdiu also oversees cross-genre briefs like The Contestable Pot, and providesstrategic and creative support to Chief Content Officer, Ian Katz and Director of Streaming and Content Strategy, Kiran Nataraja. Previously, Art was in the development team at RDF.

Nicola is a Social Media Executive with 17 years of experience spanning websites, YouTube, social media and photography. She currently produces, directs and edits content for Blue Peter, where she generated over 40 million views in the past year. Her work includes leading major film junkets and producing high-impact moments, most notably the video of Olivia Colman receiving her Blue Peter badge that went viral and even made BBC TV News! Named one of 2024's Ones to Watch, Nicola secured a Channel 4 commission to bring her short film to life. Don't miss the premiere of her film, '1763', on Wednesday at 10am, along with a chance to hear the next wave of standout pitches vying for the next commission!

Gemma is the Impact Director at the TV Foundation, the charitable arm of the Edinburgh TV Festival. Prior to that, Gemma was the Director of One World Media and focused on growing their support for new talent covering global stories. She is passionate about making the creative industries more accessible and the power of stories to open minds and create space for conversation and change - most recently focusing on making the TV industry open to all, the climate crisis and working class representation. Gemma started her career in public policy before a move to the US led to her working in the documentary industry as Director of Programs for the Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA), and prior to that as COO of San Francisco Green Film Festival.

Emma joined Bad Wolf in 2024 as Creative & Commercial Affairs Executive. Based at the company’s HQ Wolf Studios Wales, with offices also in London, Bad Wolf is known for producing acclaimed drama series including Industry (HBO/BBC), His Dark Materials (BBC/HBO), I Hate Suzie (Sky/HBO Max), and Redeye (ITV). Emma works closely with CEO Jane Tranter, Director of Content Dan McCulloch, and Creative Executive Becca Kinder across Bad Wolf’s slate of TV drama, supporting new development and overseeing the company’s emerging talent initiative, Blaidd. Upcoming productions include The War Between the Land and the Sea (BBC/Disney+) and The Other Bennet Sister (BBC/BritBox). Prior to joining Bad Wolf, Emma was a Literary Agent at leading UK talent agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates.

McCulloch rose through the freelance world, from Receptionist to Executive Producer and was instrumental to much-loved TV dramas Endeavour and Victoria as well as becoming the Producer on the first season of Channel 4’s Indian Summers. He was exclusive on all three seasons of the BAFTA Award-winning drama His Dark Materials, one of the UK’s biggest co-productions made by the independent production sector. In his role as Director of Content McCulloch has responsibility for the company’s overall development and strategy - reporting directly to CEO Jane Tranter. His next project will be shooting this year - Berlin Noir, adapted by Peter Straughan for Apple TV.

Shonda Rhimes is an award-winning television creator, producer and author, as well as the CEO of the global media company, Shondaland. Rhimes is the first woman to create three television dramas - "Grey's Anatomy," "Private Practice" and "Scandal" - that have achieved the 100 episode milestone. For five TV seasons, award-winning Shondaland shows "Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal" and "How To Get Away With Murder" occupied ABC's entire Thursday night schedule, creating a powerful brand well-known to fans and advertisers as TGIT. In 2017, Rhimes shifted the entertainment industry's business model when she left network television to exclusively produce streaming content in partnership with Netflix. "Bridgerton," Shondaland's first scripted series with the streamer, has become a worldwide franchise. Seasons of "Bridgerton'' currently hold three of the ten top spots among English language programming for Netflix. Rhimes also scripted the popular "Bridgerton" prequel series "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story," limited series "Inventing Anna" based on the popular New York Magazine article about the fake German heiress, Anna Delvey. Rhimes also executive produced Netflix's recent "The Residence," starring Emmy award winner Uzo Aduba, as well as documentaries "Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker," highlighting the legendary choreographer Debbie Allen and "Black Barbie" which chronicles the creation of the first ever black Barbie doll. Shonda Rhimes is a New York Times best-selling author for her memoir "Year of Yes' ' and has built multi-platform partnerships with such leading brands as Dove, Peloton, St. John, Masterclass, Microsoft and Mattel. Rhimes is also the founder of The Rhimes Foundation, whose mission is to support arts, education, and activism. She serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations - including the American Film Institute, the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Dartmouth College, Lincoln Center and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. In addition, Rhimes is on special committees for the USC Film Council and the Obama Foundation. Rhimes' has three times been included in the TIME 100 list of most influential people, has been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her service to US / UK relations and her work has been celebrated with numerous awards including induction into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

Mishal Husain is Editor at Large for Bloomberg Weekend, where she is launching a new multi-platform interview show in 2025, talking to politicians, business leaders, thinkers, and cultural figures from across the globe.

Mishal joined Bloomberg from the BBC, where she presented its leading news programme Today on BBC Radio 4 for over a decade. Before joining Today in 2013, she was an anchor on the international news channel BBC World News and has also been a familiar face to UK audiences on the main national news programmes. She was previously based in Washington and Singapore as a correspondent and anchor.

At the BBC, Mishal covered elections and referendums, including Brexit in 2016. In 2024, she hosted two UK Election debates, including the prime time head-to-head Prime Ministerial Debate between the two leading contenders – Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak – days before the UK public voted.

She joined the BBC as a producer in 1998 and became a presenter on BBC World News in 2001, reporting on location globally for the international news channel. She was live in New York on the day the financial markets reopened after 9/11, and from Washington on the night the Iraq war began in 2003. Later, she anchored from Beijing for the 2008 Olympics and from Pakistan after the killing of Osama Bin Laden.  She covered the 2011 uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East and the elections that brought Prime Minister Modi to power in India in 2014. That same year, she became the first journalist to enter the school in northern Pakistan attacked by the Taliban, hours after the massacre.

Mishal has presented several critically acclaimed documentaries including a series on Mahatma Gandhi, a documentary on social media and the Arab uprisings of 2011, a profile of Malala Yousafzai, and “The Longest Reign,” about Queen Elizabeth II.

As an interviewer she is known for influential high-profile and insightful conversations, from Aung San Suu Kyi to her exclusive with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their engagement in 2017, which was seen around the world.

On the BBC she was also known for commentating on Royal occasions, from the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles III.

In 2024 she was awarded the Charles Wheeler Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism by the British Journalism Review.

Mishal has written two books, most recently a family memoir, Broken Threads: My Family From Empire to Independence, which became a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, and The Skills: How to Win at Work.

Award-winning producer, writer, executive producer, founder of Scottish film and television label Storyboard Studios. Across an almost three decade career, Natalie has created and delivered ratings and acclaim at home and around the world for directing, innovation, craft and reaching new and underserved audiences. Current projects Natalie is producing include Molly Versus the Machines, an arresting story about the rise of surveillance capitalism and filming is also underway in Africa on a landmark environmental story of our times, plus we are producing a major series that will allow us inside a confronting WWII photographic archive for the first time. Natalie and her husband Ed met in Edinburgh (on the EdTVFest TV25 scheme) and got married in Campbeltown, moving to Glasgow full time in 2011. Their children are now 18 and 22. Before launching Storyboard Studios, Humphreys held a number of senior roles including leading factual for BBC Studios and controller of factual for BBC Television, in charge of a £100M+ portfolio which included the world-renowned BBC Natural History Unit, Science and Documentaries and serving as editorial lead for the BBC’s partnership with PBS. Humphreys was born in Birmingham and the first person in her family to attend University, where she did a degree in Zoology and PhD on the science of symbiosis. She started as a marine conservation researcher before moving into Film & TV.

Syeda Irtizaali is currently Interim BBC Director of Unscripted. Prior to that, in her role as Editor of Unscripted for the BBC, she has overseen content slates and strategy across Documentaries, Specialist Factual, Entertainment, Factual Entertainment, Arts, Daytime and Storyville. She also oversees hit series The Traitors UK after securing it for the BBC. Syeda started her career as a journalist with BBC News and went on to work as a producer and executive producer in entertainment, factual entertainment and documentary across several independent production companies including Monkey, Planet 24, Diverse, At It and Brighter. She had a substantial stint as a Commissioning Editor for Entertainment and Live Events at Channel 4 and was responsible for commissioning and overseeing hits such as "Alan Carr: Chatty Man," "The Million Pound Drop," "The Last Leg," "The Big Fat Quiz of The Year", "The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan" and "The Big Narstie Show." She returned to the BBC in 2020 as Commissioning Editor in Entertainment before being promoted to Portfolio Editor for BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four and BBC iPlayer within Dan McGolpin's team overseeing channel and iPlayer content strategy.

Tim oversees ITV Studio’s group of 12 UK unscripted labels producing many of Britain’s most loved shows from I’m a Celebrity and Love Island to 24 Hours in A&E, The Graham Norton Show and coverage of major sporting events like The World Cup. The UK group creates a pipeline of undeniable IP that feeds ITV Studios global network of world-class production companies, ITV Global Partnerships scaled distribution and digital business.

Tim joined ITV in 2018 and was previously CEO of ITV Studios labels Twofour, Multistory and Signpost. Tim drove creative renewal at these labels and they are now some of the most prolific creators of entertainment and factual formats in the UK. 

Before joining ITV Studios, Tim was CEO of Warner Bros label Twenty Twenty, doubling the size of the company and building hit shows such as First Dates (C4) and The Choir (BBC) into global brands. Tim also took Twenty Twenty into scripted, Executive Producing Garrow’s Law (BBC), Privates (BBC) and Traitors (C4).

Kate Ward is Managing Director of Unscripted Productions at BBC Studios, leading the division’s commercial and creative growth. She oversees a diverse portfolio including the Natural History Unit, Science Unit, Documentary Unit, Specialist Factual Productions, BBC Studios UK Entertainment, and labels like Voltage and Mothership TV, as well as invested indies Samphire Films and Mettlemouse Entertainment. Delivering over 1,400 hours of content annually, Ward harnesses BBC Studios’ global scale to create world-class IP for UK and international audiences.

Formerly MD of Factual, she helped launch major series including The Americas, Walking with Dinosaurs, Planet Earth III, and Tucci in Italy, and drove strategic partnerships with companies like Bango Studios, Hillgate Films, and Forest.

Before joining BBC Studios in 2023, Ward was President of VICE Studios, commissioning global projects like the Oscar-nominated FLEE. She also held senior commercial and strategy roles at Refinery29, launching it internationally, and at Endemol Shine Group, leading business operations at Shine TV.

Ward blends commercial acumen, creative ambition, and collaborative leadership to advance BBC Studios’ position as a global leader in Unscripted.

Michelle Singer is an Exec Producer and Director of Production, who co-founded Rockerdale Studios with Stu Richards and tragically realises that's the longest relationship she's ever had. She's loved TV her whole life and is immensely proud of the programmes she's made, with the exception of an ill-fated series filmed in Poland and made in Polish (a language which she doesn't speak). In her head, she has the body of J-Lo, the singing voice of 60s Barbra Streisand, and her boyfriend is 90s athlete Steve Backley. Her delusion does not extend to her TV work about which she is rigorous, methodical and sweary.

Stu Richards is a writer, director, and exec producer who shamelessly flogs his disabled credentials for cash. From BBC3 sitcoms Jerk and I Am Darren to unscripted shows like Channel 4's Mission: Accessible and recent ITV entertainment show The Assembly, he's done that with a very simple mantra: content with disabled people in it doesn't need to be sad and boring. Indeed, it's one of the fundamental creative principles of his production company Rockerdale Studios, which he founded alongside Michelle out of pure necessity, having been sacked from most of the telly jobs he ever had.

An award-winning executive producer, firmly based in Scotland, David looks after Tern Television's entertainment slate and is responsible for growing their returnable factual entertainment formats and shiny floor shows. Recent credits include The Inner Circle (BBC ONE), Race Against the Tide (BBC TWO), Women in Prison (BBC Scotland), Martin Compston: Living Las Vegas (Channel 4) and Show People: Licence to Thrill (BBC Scotland). Prior to working at Tern, David Exec Produced Wild Weekends for BBC Three, and Series Produced the popular BBC One quiz show !mpossible . David also launched Tern's studio-based dating format Love Song. As a Producer, his credits include Sexy Beasts (BBC Three), Prison: First & Last 24 Hours (Sky One) Kirstie's Homemade Christmas (Channel 4), Location, Location Location (Channel 4), and Officially Amazing (CBBC). He has also worked as a key development producer at STV, IWC and BBC Studios, created new formats for Sky, Channel 4 and BBC Three and worked on several of the world's biggest brands including X Factor, Big Brother, Take Me Out, and Britain's Got Talent.

Recently appointed E4 commissioning lead, senior commissioning editor Vivienne Molokwu, who is part of the Reality and Entertainment department, oversees the Bake Off Brand at the channel and as part of Ian Katz's senior leadership team, also leads on the Diverse Indies Fund (DIF), a joint multi-million pound fund with Motion designed to boost commissions from small and medium sized ethnically diverse-owned production companies. Other commissions include Open House for C4 now in its third series and upcoming new E4 series No Strings Attached.

Richard McKerrow was a commissioning editor at Channel 4 and Creative Director of Maverick TV. He co-founded Love Productions with Anna Beattie in 2004. He was CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Love until January 2025. Richard and Anna were responsible for many of Love's critically acclaimed and award-winning television shows including, The Great British Bake Off, The Great British Sewing Bee, and The Great Pottery Throwdown. Richard has overseen the creation and exploitation of Love's formats in the UK and in the US, titles which include The Baby Borrowers, Famous Rich and Homeless, Britain's Missing Top Model, Young Mums Mansion, My Last Summer, Benefits Street, Muslims Like Us, among many others. Most recently he created The Piano for Channel 4 and is now launching a new venture.

Nelesh is an Emmy-winning, Grierson-nominated producer and creative leader with a proven track record of developing and delivering documentaries and series for global audiences. For the past three years, he has worked in Netflix Doc Series team, commissioning original series for the US and UK markets. His slate includes critically acclaimed hits such as American Nightmare, Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies and Scandal, Robbie Williams, Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story, McGregor Forever, Who Killed Jill Dando?, Last Chance U, Break Point, Untold, and FIFA Uncovered, among others. Before Netflix, Nelesh served as Creative Director at Pulse Films, where he was part of the board and spearheaded a diverse range of projects, including Dead Asleep (Hulu), ODB: A Tale of Two Dirties (A&E IndieFilms), Mr. Chow (HBO), Hair Power: Me and My Afro (Channel 4), The Case Died With Her (Oxygen), Inside Missguided (C4) and Hip Hop Treasures (A&E). Previously, as Head of Factual Development at Naked, Nelesh was responsible for growing Naked's factual slate with commissions such as Manson: The Lost Tapes (Fox/ITV), The Day I Picked My Parents (A&E), and Flight 93 (History Channel). Earlier in his career, he held senior creative roles at leading UK production companies, including On the Corner, Optomen, and Voltage TV, further honing his expertise in factual storytelling.

Harry leads Tern, the UK's largest Dual-Nations TV company, and is also Chief Creative Director for Zinc Media TV's nine TV labels. He's won four BAFTA's and at Zinc TV won the coveted Best Global Production Company at the New York Festivals in 2024 and 2025. At Tern he's developed and co-created several hit formats in reality, quiz, documentary and lifestyle programming. He believes that development is the engine room of any creative business. Originally from Argyll, Scotland, he's proud of building a small Nations indie from the ground up into a company making and selling shows across the world. He also believes nobody knows anything and that TV is all about Futures.

Sebastian Cardwell is Deputy Chief Content Officer and Head of Drama. Cardwell first joined 5 in 2011 and has been instrumental in 5’s continued evolution into a destination for high quality originations across a range of genres, with an emphasis on drama. Spearheading 5’s increased investment in scripted content, Cardwell has changed the face of the genre on the channel, giving rise to hit-rating titles such as All Creatures Great and Small, Ellis, The Hardacres, The Teacher, Coma and The Feud. In addition, Cardwell has also led the commissioning of a range of UK original drama for Paramount+ since the service’s launch in 2022. Hit titles have included The Crow Girl, The Ex-Wife, Little Disasters, Castaways, No Escape, Insomnia and A Gentleman In Moscow.

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Session Producer: Paul Wood

Ben is Chief Content Officer, 5, the UK’s third largest commercial TV network. Under Ben’s leadership, 5 has undergone a creative renewal through continued investment in high quality originations across a range of genres, with a focus on increased original commissions in peak time. 5 has broadened the scope of its programming, commissioning history, natural history, entertainment and comedy series to build on its roots in factual programming, attracting talent ranging from Michael Palin to James May, Jane McDonald to Jeremy Vine. 5 has particularly established itself as a leading channel for scripted drama, with titles like All Creatures Great and Small, Ellis, Coma, The Hardacres and The Teacher among the many hits on the channel. This fundmental shift in the channel’s reputation – and increased appeal to wider audiences - has been recognised through a raft of industry awards. Accolades in recent years include Channel of the Year at the Broadcast Awards and RTS Awards in 2020, plus the channel’s first Grierson win with Suicidal: In Our Own Words that year. In 2024, Channel 5 continued its winning streak with BAFTA Television and RTS Awards for the documentary White Nanny, Black Child, among others.

Katie Razzall is culture and media editor at BBC News, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The Media Show and a regular host of BBC Newsnight. She’s a BAFTA-nominated and RTS award-winning journalist for investigations into unregulated children’s homes, how Covid spread through a care home chain and the Grenfell Tower fire. Covering culture for the BBC, Katie has recently interviewed David Hockney, Bill Gates, Anna Wintour and Yulia Navalnaya. She joined the BBC from Channel 4 News.

Dorothy Byrne is the former Head of News and Current Affairs and Editor-at-Large at Channel Four. Programmes she has commissioned have won numerous Emmy, BAFTA, RTS and other awards.

Roy Wood Jr. is a comedian, an Emmy-nominated documentary producer, and WGA nominated writer. He served for 8 years as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s Emmy-winning The Daily Show (2015-2023). In 2023, Wood Jr. guest hosted The Daily Show and headlined the White House Correspondents' Dinner to its highest ratings since 2017. Roy’s fourth stand-up special, Lonely Flowers, premiered on Hulu January 17th, 2025. Roy is the host of CNN’s Have I Got News for You, an American adaptation of a long-running UK comedy series, which premiered September 2024 and returns for a third season in Fall 2025. Wood Jr. will appear alongside Keanu Reeves and Jonah Hill in the upcoming comedy ‘Outcome’ and will next be seen in the Sundance film Love, Brooklyn. He recently partnered with Crown Publishing to pen a memoir, The Man of Many Fathers, which will be released October 28th, 2025.

Matthew Belloni is Founding Partner of Puck, a digital media company covering the power centers of America. He helped launch Puck in 2021, writes the "What I'm Hearing" newsletter about the entertainment industry, and hosts "The Town," a podcast about the inner workings of Hollywood, for The Ringer Podcast Network. As editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter from 2016 to 2020, Belloni oversaw the weekly print magazine, THR.com, video, podcasts, and live events. During this time, THR won a National Magazine Award for General Excellence. Belloni spearheaded THR's Emmy-nominated roundtable series, "Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter," and "Angelyne," a scripted adaptation of a THR article. Belloni also appears regularly as an analyst on TV and radio, and was featured in the AppleTV+ series "The Studio." Belloni was an attorney at an entertainment law firm in Los Angeles. He holds a bachelor's degree from University of California, Berkeley, and a law degree from the USC School of Law, where he was on the USC Law Review.

Hamish Fergusson is Creative Director of PASSION Documentaries, part of the award-winning PASSION PICTURES group. Hamish provides creative leadership across PASSION’s slate of premium factual programming from early development through to final delivery. He works closely with producers and production management, ensuring a supportive and thoughtful environment for teams and contributors alike, with many of PASSION’s films exploring sensitive or challenging subjects. Hamish has executive produced a string of global hits: Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke became Hulu’s biggest unscripted series ever and reached number one in the US, UK and multiple other territories. The Astroworld Tragedy for Netflix’s Trainwreck strand was another major success, topping charts around the world. He also oversaw Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar for the BBC and was executive producer on the BAFTA-winning Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story .

Kelly spent 5 years as Deputy Director of Programmes and Head of Popular Factual at Channel 4, where she was responsible for a huge slate, ranging from The Great British Bake Off to Celebrity Gogglebox, The Circle, Old People's Home for 4 Year Olds, and Joe Lycett's Got Your Back. During her time at C4, Kelly spotted and grew a roster of new talent including Mo Gilligan and Sophie Willan, as well as managing and nurturing some of the channel's biggest names such as Sandi Toksvig, Ashley Banjo, and Emma Willis. In her final year, she ran and delivered the Black to Front Project, the channel's most radical diversity programme in its history. Prior to Channel 4, Kelly was Managing Director of Shine TV, where she created, sold and launched the BAFTA and RTS award-winning The Island with Bear Grylls, as well as Hunted, for Channel 4. In her early career Kelly was Series Editor of The Apprentice (during the Katie Hopkins years), exec-ed Mary Queen of Charity Shops and Gordon Ramsay's Cookalong Live, and cut her teeth on the great early formats such as Back to the Floor.

Marcus Ryder is an internationally recognised leader in the film and TV industry. In 2024 he was named by Variety magazine as one the 500 most influential business leaders shaping the global media industry - one of less than 50 people from the UK. In 2023 Marcus Ryder became CEO of the Film and TV Charity, the leading organisation responsible for the wellbeing for people working in the film, television and cinema sector behind the scenes. Marcus took over the Charity's reins just as the full extent of the "perfect storm" of the US actors' and writers' strikes, and UK television commissioning slow down, was being felt by industry workers. The Charity raised a quarter of a million pounds in less than two weeks to redistribute in hardship grants. As the Chair of RADA, Marcus oversaw the academy achieve the highest rating by any UK drama school as ranked by Hollywood Reporter in 2023. RADA was also awarded the prestigious "Gold rating" by the UK's Office for Students (OFS). Marcus has been at the forefront of efforts to increase inclusion and diversity in the media industry, launching the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity in 2020 and giving evidence to parliamentary select committees on the issue. Marcus has won numerous industry awards including Bafta and RTS awards, he was also awarded the highly coveted Percy Qoboza prize by the US National Association of Black Journalists for services to foreign journalism in 2023.

Leo joined Warp Films as Head of Production in early 2023. Since then she has overseen the production of ADOLESCENCE for Netflix and REUNION for the BBC. Prior to Warp, Leo worked at Objective Media for Objective Fiction on various shows, including THE GOLD (BBC) and THE LARKINS (ITV) and for Story Films on THE THIEF, HIS WIFE & THE CANOE (ITV) and DECEIT (Channel 4). Before Objective, she spent 12 years with Bwark and Fudge Park Productions making, among other things, THE INBETWEENERS series and films. In between all this, Leo spent six months at ScreenSkills working with the HETV team on Trainee Finder and she continues to work with ScreenSkills as part of their HETV regional working group.

Lara Singer is a TV Producer at Big Talk Studios with over 15 years' experience in scripted television, developing and producing acclaimed series including Transaction (ITV), Peacock (BBC), Back (C4), and Just a Couple (BBC). Lara is passionate about changing the industry's burn-out culture into environments where people can thrive. She is an ICF-accredited coach, combining practical industry insight with coaching expertise in her commitment to transforming high-pressure working environments into more emotionally intelligent, empowering, and sustainable spaces that foster well-being. She brings this ethos into every production she leads with Big Talk. Understanding first-hand the intensity of building a creative career and the challenges of working on production, she runs the Self-Development Coaching Programme at the National Film & Television School, helping professionals across production, development, and leadership roles rebuild career clarity, confidence and resilience. Lara has delivered talks for BAFTA, RTS, LOCO Film Festival, and featured in the Dove TV campaign advocating for empowering women in media. She recently appeared on ITV News, speaking on our industry's need to strengthen regional support.

As Director of Commissioning Hilary leads UKTV's team of commissioners, overseeing a growing slate of original scripted and unscripted content such as new drama series Outrageous, Bergerac and I, Jack Wright and the award-winning Emma Willis Delivering Babies and Big Zuu's Big Eats. She was original commissioner of Dave's BAFTA-winning Taskmaster. Hilary began her career in BBC News & Current Affairs, as a researcher on Panorama, before moving to the independent production sector, firstly at Lion Television as Senior Executive Producer, and later as Creative Director at Silver River Productions. Hilary was recently appointed deputy chair of the BAFTA Board of Trustees and will succeed the chair in autumn 2026, helping oversee the delivery of BAFTA's mission as an arts charity to champion creatives and practitioners working in film, games and TV. She joined the BAFTA Television Committee in 2021 and has been chair for the last two years, alongside becoming a Board Trustee. Hilary regularly chairs industry events and taskforces, including Film and TV Charity's Mentally Healthy Productions initiative, and has led roundtables combatting antisemitism and islamophobia in the industry. She has been a consultant for BBC Academy and is a mentor for women in television.

Lindsay joined the BBC as Director of Drama in September 2022. She has the widest remit within British drama broadcasting and is responsible for delivering distinctive, world-beating content on BBC iPlayer and the portfolio of channels.

The BBC Drama slate includes crime dramas Blue Lights, This City is Ours, Vigil and The Jetty, literary adaptations Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, Lord of the Flies, The Night Manager and Mr Loverman, state of the nation dramas including Dear England, The Ministry of Time and Sherwood, and character-led series such as Riot Women, The Dream Lands, Boarders, What It Feels Like for a Girl, Reunion and The Split Up. Long-running favourites Doctor Who, EastEnders, Casualty, Silent Witness, Call the Midwife, Shetland and Death in Paradise are a key part of the slate.

Previously, Lindsay was part of the first UK Scripted team at Netflix, where she helped to establish a new slate and commissioned shows including hit series Baby Reindeer and One Day. She also worked on Heartstopper and The Crown season five.

Prior to that, she was Head of Development at Sky Drama UK, where she ran the development slate for Sky One and Sky Atlantic and worked across developments ranging from The Lazarus Project to The Third Day. Lindsay started her career at Left Bank Pictures where she worked across a range of productions and developments both as a producer and script editor.

McCulloch rose through the freelance world, from Receptionist to Executive Producer and was instrumental to much-loved TV dramas Endeavour and Victoria as well as becoming the Producer on the first season of Channel 4’s Indian Summers. He was exclusive on all three seasons of the BAFTA Award-winning drama His Dark Materials, one of the UK’s biggest co-productions made by the independent production sector. In his role as Director of Content McCulloch has responsibility for the company’s overall development and strategy - reporting directly to CEO Jane Tranter. His next project will be shooting this year - Berlin Noir, adapted by Peter Straughan for Apple TV.

Becky is Head of Originals for LADstudios, the award-winning production and distribution arm of the digital entertainment business, LADbible Group, home to 520 million followers worldwide. Becky leads on the strategic vision of LADstudios to include all commercial and creative opportunities across the business’s original video IP and channels, including the 2025 launch of the first LADbible Fast Channel with Samsung TV Plus. She oversees original content creation across all Factual, Entertainment and Sports genres. Becky’s knowledge and understanding of Gen Z and Millennial audiences means that she, along with the Originals team, have grown strong, returnable, recognisable and iconic digital formats such as Snack Wars, Agree to Disagree and Minutes With that have ultimately shaped the way the youth generation consumes entertainment across the digital landscape. 

Patrick Holland is Banijay UK’s CEO & Exec Chair overseeing the management and strategic direction of the UK group’s portfolio of over 20 scripted and unscripted production labels.  Under his leadership, Banijay UK was named ‘Production Group of the Year’ at the 2024 Edinburgh International Television Festival. 

Patrick joined Banijay in May 2022 from the BBC, where he was Director, Factual, Arts & Classical Music (appointed April 2021) and prior to this Channel Controller of BBC Two (appointed March 2017). Under his leadership the channel built an unparalleled pipeline of series that graduated to BBC One and won channel of the year awards at both the Edinburgh TV Awards and Broadcast Awards. Prior to joining BBC Two, Patrick was Head of Commissioning, Documentaries for the BBC and during his tenure new returning brands Ambulance, Reported Missing, The Real Marigold Hotel and Exodus were delivered or developed. Before joining the broadcaster, Patrick was managing director of one of the UK’s biggest factual independent production companies, Boundless (part of Fremantle Media UK). As a documentary director earlier in his career credits included The Case of Tony Martin, Looking for Dad and The Love Triangle Murder.

Alisa's stand-out commissions include the BAFTA-winning To Catch a Copper, multi award-winning series The Push: Murder on the Cliff, Evacuation, Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed Britain, Jeremy Kyle Show: Death on Daytime, Banged Up and RTS-winning factual drama Partygate. She is currently C4's Head of Documentaries and Factual Entertainment, overseeing the department responsible for titles ranging from 24 Hours in Police Custody to Hunted and Gogglebox.

Ian Katz has overall responsibility for all Channel 4's creative output across linear and digital platforms. He leads the commissioning team to ensure delivery of Channel 4's unique remit to represent unheard voices, challenge conventional thinking and foster creative innovation. Under his leadership, the channel has led the UK market in digital growth, been named Channel of the Year at the Edinburgh TV Festival and earned a slew of awards for shows including It's a Sin, The Piano, The Jury, Big Boys and To Catch a Copper. This Year he has aired a string of much talked about shows ranging from Go Back To Where You Came From to Virgin Island. Ian has a background in both broadcast and newspaper journalism and digital innovation. He was editor of the BBC's flagship daily news and current affairs programme Newsnight from 2013 to 2017. Previously he worked in a wide range of writing and editing roles at The Guardian where, as Deputy Editor and Head of News (2008-2013), he oversaw the ground breaking WikiLeaks and phone-hacking investigations, as well as leading The Guardian's strategy to become a global leader on environment coverage. Ian was responsible for developing The Guardian's first website and played a central role in The Guardian's digital development over the subsequent 15 years.

Jo Street is the Director of Commissioning, Nations and Regions & Head of Lifestyle at Channel 4 where she oversees a huge slate of some of the most popular returning series on the channel, like Great Pottery Throwdown, Location, Location, Location, Extraordinary Extensions, Kirstie & Phil's Love it or List it, Come Dine With Me, Renovation Rescue, Countdown…and more. Based out of the Glasgow Hub of C4, she manages a commissioning team that is spread across the UK and is a passionate advocate for commissioning Out of London and a champion of Nations & Regions production. Prior to joining C4 she enjoyed 25years at the BBC. Jo is also a practicing Executive Coach & Mediator -both in house at C4 and beyond.

Charlie Perkins is Head of Comedy at Channel 4, where she has overseen a range of acclaimed scripted comedy shows including Big Boys, The Change, Everyone Else Burns, Pushers and Big Mood. She has also commissioned a diverse and ambitious slate of upcoming projects including The Mitchell & Webb Sketch Show (w/t), Make That Movie, Schooled, Break Clause and It Gets Worse. Prior to joining Channel 4, Charlie led the multi-award-winning comedy department at Blink Industries, where she produced the cult hit Don't Hug Me I'm Scared. Her earlier career spans work on iconic programmes such as Benidorm and Mock the Week and producing roles across various mediums at The Invisible Dot, BBC Radio Comedy, and Cave Bear Productions. Charlie is also a committed advocate for the live comedy scene. She founded the Bristol Revunions and The Paddock comedy collective, co-founded the Live Comedy Association, and launched the Free-Free Movement.

Emma Cox is a freelance journalist who writes for publications including Radio Times, tabloids and broadsheets. She also produces press materials and moderates panels for all of the big PSBs and streamers, and is currently writing her first novel.

In 2023, Emily assumed the role of Chief Creative Officer at Warp Films, following her tenure as Creative Director at Big Light Productions since 2017. Emily’s most recent projects include serving as Executive Producer on Adolescence, a gripping one-shot drama that premiered in March 2025. The series quickly became Netflix UK's most successful show, earning widespread acclaim from both critics and audiences. Adolescence soared into the platform’s overall Top 10, cementing its status as a global success. During her time at Big Light Productions, Emily served as the Executive Producer for multiple ongoing television productions, including two seasons of Medici for Rai and Netflix, the second season of Devils for Sky, and the global premiere of Leonardo on Amazon Prime in 2022, which involved collaborations with RAI, France Télévisions, RTVE, and Sony. Additionally, Emily contributed to the creation of the scripted podcast drama, Radioman, exclusively for Audible UK. Prior to her involvement with Big Light Productions, Emily held notable positions at RED Production Company, ITV, and Hat Trick Productions, contributing to various dramatic projects such as Banana, Ordinary Lies, Trust Me, and Holby City.

Jack Thorne is a writer of film, television and theatre. He has won five BAFTAs: Best Mini-Series for THIS IS ENGLAND '88, Best Drama Series for THE FADES, Best Single Drama for DON'T TAKE MY BABY, Best Mini-Series for THIS IS ENGLAND '90, and Best Mini-Series for NATIONAL TREASURE. In 2022 he won the RTS Single Drama, The Rose D'Or and an International Emmy for HELP, and, in 2023, his single TV drama THEN BARBARA MET ALLEN won the Broadcast Best Single Drama Award. He is behind the recent Netflix hits ADOLESCENCE and TOXIC TOWN, and has adapted LORD OF THE FLIES for BBC (TXing later in 2025). Other TV credits include BEST INTERESTS, HIS DARK MATERIALS, THE ACCIDENT, and KIRI. In film, Jack has written all three ENOLA HOLMES films, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill, THE SWIMMERS, THE AERONAUTS starring Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne, WONDER starring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson, and JOY starring Bill Nighy, James Norton & Thomasin McKenzie. As a playwright, Jack has had a prolific career, with plays including HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, which won multiple Olivier and Tony Awards including Best New Play and Best Play, and most recently THE MOTIVE AND THE CUE, directed by Sam Mendes, which won the Critics' Circle Award for Best New Play. In 2022, Jack won the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Outstanding Contribution to Writing and the Royal Television Society's award for Outstanding Contribution to British Television.

Mona Qureshi joined the Netflix UK Content team in June 2022 as Director of Scripted Series. As part of her role she has seen a great range of titles through to their debut on Netflix, including Adolescence, Dept. Q, and Too Much, plus the forthcoming House of Guinness. Her recent title commissions include the adaptation of Pride and Prejudice written by Dolly Alderton. Prior to Netflix Mona was a Commissioning Editor for BBC Drama, where she was responsible for a diverse portfolio of shows including the critically acclaimed Adam Kay's This Is Going To Hurt, starring Ben Whishaw, and The Responder, starring Martin Freeman.

Anita Rani is an RTS Award winning broadcaster with a career spanning nearly 20 years. She is currently one of the lead presenters of BBC One’s Countryfile and she also presents Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4. Adding bestselling author to her list of achievements, she published her memoir The Right Sort of Girl in 2015, following by debut novel Baby Does a Runner in 2023. Anita was made a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Goodwill Ambassador in 2021 and recently became Chancellor of Bradford University – her hometown, she has since implemented the Rani Scholarship helping those from unpresented backgrounds into higher education.

Christine can now be seen starring in Netflix’s hugely acclaimed Adolescence, written by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne and directed by Philip Barantini, in which she stars opposite Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters and Erin Doherty. The show has garnered over 66 million views in its first fortnight on Netflix.  

 

Adolescence Scenes

Adolescence Review – The Hollywood Reporter

The Closest Thing to TV Perfection in Decades – The Guardian

 

She has also recently been seen in Channel 4’s drama series, The Gathering and in the BBC’s Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story, directed by Al Mackay. 

 

Other recent screen credits include the BBC’s Responder opposite Martin Freeman and her series regular role in Sky’s Wolfe.

 

Responder Scenes

Matt Lewis is a British Cinematographer. He has collaborated extensively with Philip Barantini on the critically acclaimed series Adolescence and Boiling Point (both the film and television series). They have also worked together on the feature Accused and the series' Malpractice and The Responder. Matt has also shot several music videos for artists such as Sam Fender and Sam Tompkins. His upcoming projects includes Enola Holmes 3 and the second series of A Thousand Blows.

India Willoughby is a groundbreaking British broadcaster, journalist, and one of the world's first transgender TV newsreaders. Described by Piers Morgan as "the best trans role-model in Britain," she made history as the first trans woman to co-host Loose Women and to anchor news for Channel 5. Witty, bold, and unapologetically herself, India has become a familiar face on UK television, appearing on shows such as Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, and This Morning. She shot to global attention during her time on Celebrity Big Brother, where she challenged public perceptions and ignited conversation around gender identity and love. Her motto-"It's never too late to change your life"-reflects her personal and professional journey. Before transitioning, India nearly pursued professional football, even winning a trial with Carlisle United. As a journalist and presenter, she has interviewed figures from Priscilla Presley and Caitlyn Jenner to Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher. India is a former British LGBT Award nominee and winner of the Diversity in Media "Moment of the Year" Award. She has written for the Daily Mirror, Mail on Sunday, and The Independent on gender, cosmetic surgery, and media. She is currently writing a memoir about her extraordinary life in the public eye.

Jordan Gray is a writer, performer, comedian & recording artist. Her now-historic 2022 Edinburgh Fringe show (JORDAN GRAY: IS IT A BIRD?) was nominated for ‘Best Show’ (Ed Fringe), ‘Most Outstanding Show’ (Melb Int. Comedy Fest) and earned her the British Comedy Guide's ‘Comedian’s Comedian Award’, and Next Up's ‘Biggest Award in Comedy’. The show’s special is now streaming 0n Channel 4 – a channel that also awarded her ‘Breakthrough Comedy Star’ in 2023. She changed the face of live TV on the BAFTA-and-RTS-winning ‘Friday Night Live’ and, one week later, became the first ever transgender person to perform a solo show at the London Palladium. Jordan's is also the creator, writer, co-star and EP of her 6 part sitcom TRANSACTION - currently showing on ITV2 and setting records for ITVX. Jordan’s new show, IS THAT A C*CK IN YOUR POCKET, OR ARE YOU JUST HERE TO KILL ME? Is showing at the Piccolo Tent, Assembly George Square until the 24th August. Her now-historic 2022 Edinburgh Fringe show (JORDAN GRAY: IS IT A BIRD?) was nominated for 'Best Show' (Ed Fringe), 'Most Outstanding Show' (Melb Int. Comedy Fest) and earned her the British Comedy Guide's 'Comedian's Comedian Award', and Next Up's 'Biggest Award in Comedy'. The show's special is now streaming 0n Channel 4 - a channel that also awarded her 'Breakthrough Comedy Star' in 2023. She changed the face of live TV on the BAFTA-and-RTS-winning 'Friday Night Live' and, one week later, became the first ever transgender person to perform a solo show at the London Palladium. Jordan's is also the creator, writer, co-star and EP of her 6 part sitcom TRANSACTION - currently showing on ITV2 and setting records for ITVX. Jordan's new show, IS THAT A C*CK IN YOUR POCKET, OR ARE YOU JUST HERE TO KILL ME? Is showing at the Piccolo Tent, Assembly George Square until the 24th August.

Hannah Frances Therese Jones is a Liverpool-born, London-based actor. In 2025, she starred in What It Feels Like For A Girl, a BBC Three coming-of-age drama. She works across film and TV, with experience in both scripted and improvised projects. Hannah is drawn to roles with tension - characters in transition, people out of place, or just trying to keep it together. She has a direct, grounded approach to performance and is interested in work that feels lived-in and unpolished. Alongside acting, Hannah writes for screen. She's currently developing her first original series, 'Lust and Found' with Hera Pictures. She's interested in working with filmmakers and creators who value performance and atmosphere, and who aren't afraid to let things get quiet, strange, or uncomfortable. Recent work includes indie shorts, theatre projects, and ongoing development in both acting and screenwriting. She's always looking to be part of stories that leave room for something unexpected.

Juno Dawson is a #1 Sunday Times bestselling novelist, screenwriter, podcaster, and a former columnist for Attitude Magazine. Juno's books include the global bestsellers, THIS BOOK IS GAY and CLEAN. She won the 2020 YA Book Prize for MEAT MARKET. Her first adult fantasy trilogy HER MAJESTY'S ROYAL COVEN launched in 2022, becoming an instant bestseller. Juno also writes for television. Her TV credits include DOCTOR WHO (2025) and THE BIRTH OF VENUS (2021).

Ashley James is a broadcaster and campaigner. She is a vocal advocate for equality and women’s rights and is currently a political and social affairs correspondent for ITV’s This Morning. She is a proud mother to two young children, Alfie and Ada.

Rohan Sharma is a British/Indian comedian who is/isn't bringing his debut hour about his harrowing/comfortable upbringing to Edinburgh this year. He will talk about how he's faced racism/no racism and will criticise/champion Britain and its checkered/flawless history, all from the perspective of a man whose brain has been corroded/nourished by modern society. The reigning Leicester Square New Comedian champion presents his hotly-anticipated debut, a fast-paced, multimedia odyssey. Come see truth become lies, lies become truth and the dog become mad. 'Had the crowd roaring... ingenious' (BeyondTheJoke.co.uk). 'Very surreal and very funny' (VoiceMag.uk).

Most Outstanding Show Nominee at Melbourne International Comedy Festival Olga Koch is known for her razor-sharp wit and masterful storytelling. Olga was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer (2018), Best Show at Leicester Comedy Festival (2020), and won the Writers' Guild Award for Best Radio Comedy (2022) for her hit show 'Fight'. She's also the host of two smash-hit podcasts, Family Jewels and The Glue Factory. An all-rounder with serious range, Olga has lit up screens on Mock the Week, QI, Live at the Apollo, Frankie Boyle's New World Order, Late Night Mash, Richard Osman's House of Games, Guessable, and Question Team, and is a fan-favorite guest on the Off Menu podcast. Her BBC Radio 4 series OK Computer ran for 3 Seasons and was nominated for a BBC Audio Drama Award.

In a desperate need for attention, Shalaka has decided to get a mental health diagnosis. Join her as she convinces her therapist that there's something wrong. Channel 4 Sean Lock Award finalist. West End New Act of the Year winner. As seen on BBC, Comedy Central and Channel 4

Ayo Adenekan makes his highly anticipated Fringe debut with a hilarious and heartfelt show about growing up in Scotland. With sharp storytelling and a laid-back charm, Ayo explores identity, belonging and the awkward moments in between. Already making waves on the Scottish comedy scene, he's been featured in The National and has provided tour support for Sarah Keyworth, Olga Koch and Amy Matthews. Don't miss this exciting new voice as he brings his unique perspective to the Fringe, with the support of Red Bull UK.

Shetlander Marjolein was a finalist in Channel 4's Sean Lock Comedy Awards (2024) and nominated for the Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award (2025). The comedian and storyteller expertly weaves stand-up and folklore to share her own personal stories like no one else. Ranked third in The List's Hot 100 as one of the top Scottish cultural contributors of 2023, Marjolein performed her twice award-nominated show Marj to sellout audiences in the same year. 2024 saw Marjolein return with her show O, with the Guardian naming her one of the 'funniest comedians at the Fringe', achieving a complete sell-out run and was officially one of the Best-Reviewed Edinburgh Fringe shows of 2024. Marjolein is a regular panellist on BBC's Breaking The News and The Good, The Bad and The Unexpected. Marjolein has also performed stand-up on UKTV's Rosie Jones' Disability Comedy Extravaganza, BBC's Scotland Stands Up and Comedy Central Live.

Pleasance Reserve Member and Funny Women Stage Award Finalist Sharon Wanjohi is a queer British Kenyan comedian, who's been making waves on the circuit with her take on the lack of Gen-z homeowners and maybe too much material on the cartoons that inspired a generation of sexual awakenings. Sharon is an alumna of the 2024 Pleasance Reserve and is making her debut at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe with 'In The House'. As a prolific writer, Sharon has written for acclaimed television series including Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Late Night Lycett, and the Jonathan Ross Show. As seen on Comedy Central Live, Wanjohi has also provided tour support for Jessica Fostekew and Sarah Keyworth.

Lenny has risen from being a cult star on children's television to becoming one of Britain's best known television performers, as well as a writer, philanthropist and award-winning stage actor. Lenny's recent acting screen credits include The Witcher: Blood Origin, Rings of Power, Broadchurch, The Syndicate and the biographic film Danny and The Human Zoo. In theatre, Lenny has starred in The Comedy of Errors at The National, Fences at the Duchess Theatre and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui at the Donmar Warehouse. As one of the co-founders and public face of Comic Relief he has played a central role in the charity raising over £1 billion since 1985. Lenny is a leading advocate for diversity in the arts and has established a centre for Media Diversity at Birmingham City University, written two books on the topic and co-hosted the podcast Black British Lives Matter. He was awarded a Knighthood in 2015 for services to drama and charity and was a Trustee of the National Theatre from 2016 to 2023. Lenny has written two memoirs' with Faber alongside a series of children's books published through Pan Macmillan. In 2023, his "innovative" ITV1 drama series Three Little Birds received critical acclaim as did his five star, one man play August in England which Lenny wrote and performed in at The Bush Theatre. Photo Credit: Jake Turney/Comic Relief

Ben Bailey Smith began his career as a rapper, touring with Mark Ronson before moving into stand-up comedy in 2007 under the alias Doc Brown. He gained international recognition as a comedian before expanding into TV, film, screenwriting, and children’s books, including I Am Bear (Walker) and Something I Said (Bloomsbury).

A regular collaborator with Ricky Gervais, he appeared in Channel 4’s Derek, the 2016 sketch Equality Street, and feature film Life on the Road. TV roles include Empire agent Blevin in Star Wars: Andor (Disney+), Joe Gibson in Suspicion (Apple TV+), and parts in Brief Encounters, Cleaning Up (ITV), The Split S2 (BBC), and Britannia (Sky).

Film credits include Cinderella (with James Corden) and Charles Musgrove in Persuasion (Netflix), opposite Dakota Johnson and Richard E. Grant. He hosted the 2016 BAFTA Britannia Awards and performed an original piece for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

Recent roles include Truelove (Channel 4), Significant Other (ITVX), Boiling Point and The Sixth Commandment (BBC), Black Mirror (Netflix), and Little Disasters (Paramount+). He also starred in White Rabbit Red Rabbit, performing unrehearsed from a sealed script with no director onstage.

James Harding is Editor-in-Chief of The Observer and founder of Tortoise Media. He previously served as Director of News and Current Affairs at the BBC from 2012 to 2018. He was Editor of The Times from 2007 to 2012, winning Newspaper of the Year in two of the five years he edited the paper. He was previously The Times's Business Editor, having joined from The Financial Times where he worked as Washington Bureau Chief, Media Editor, and China Correspondent - opening the paper's bureau in Shanghai in 1996, the first European newspaper to do so since the 1949 revolution. Harding is the author of Alpha Dogs - How Political Spin Became a Global Business and co-presented On Background on the BBC World Service. Photograph by Charlie Clift

Ryan is Executive Director at Organic, an award-winning global communications agency for the entertainment industry. He leads the specialist TV team, who have overseen the publicity campaigns for such titles as Rivals (Disney+), Nolly (ITV), The Apprentice (BBC), Sherwood S1 & S2 (BBC), A Very Royal Scandal (Prime Video), and This is Going to Hurt (BBC) amongst many others. Prior to Organic, Ryan was a freelance publicist whose campaigns included It’s A Sin (Channel 4) and The Power (Prime Video), and before that he led the in-house scripted publicity team at Channel 4, overseeing campaigns which included Brexit: The Uncivil War, The State, The Virtues, National Treasure and Derry Girls. 

As Vice President of Title Marketing at BBC Studios, I lead global marketing strategy across some of the world's most recognisable and loved content brands. With a career spanning media and entertainment, I have played a central role in launching hit shows, growing audiences and building brand affinity through bold, innovative audience first campaigns. At BBC Studios, I oversee marketing for a broad range of genres from landmark natural history and scripted drama to comedy, factual entertainment, kids and family shows. I work closely with producers, creative agencies, commercial teams and third party partners to deliver marketing that maximises cultural and commercial impact. I am passionate about the role marketing plays in shaping the success of content in a crowded, fast moving landscape and believe great marketing is not just about visibility but about creating emotional connections and lasting impact. I see marketing as the bridge between a great show and a global hit.

As Head of Marketing Campaigns and Partner Marketing at ITV, Simon brings over 15 years of experience driving standout marketing across both streaming and broadcast. Over the past decade at ITV, he has led high-performing teams in delivering integrated, audience-first campaigns for some of the UK's most iconic and best-loved IP. From flagship entertainment and landmark drama to global sporting events and reality juggernauts, Simon and his team focus on creating buzz, building excitement, and delivering an unmissable sense of occasion around ITV's hero content moments. Prior to ITV, Simon was part of the Marketing team at Channel 4, where he worked across a diverse slate of innovative programming-a personal highlight being the award-winning Meet the Superhumans campaign for the 2012 Paralympics. Simon is passionate about storytelling, audience insight, and the evolving future of media marketing. He's worked on some of ITV's most iconic moments-and most of them started with the phrase, "I think we just need one more small tweak to the 30-second trailer.…"

Chris is the Marketing Director for UK Series at Netflix, leading the teams responsible for campaign strategy and creative across titles like Adolescence, The Gentlemen, Baby Reindeer, Love Is Blind UK, Black Mirror, and Grenfell: Uncovered. Before joining Netflix, he led a channel marketing team on the other side of the world at Television New Zealand. More recently, as Head of Marketing for BBC One, he oversaw campaigns for everything from Strictly to Peaky Blinders, an infamous Dracula billboard, and EastEnders (a show which incidentally gave him his first paid job as a child extra, accidentally awakening a lifelong love of television.)

Jane is responsible for developing and implementing the BBC’s portfolio brand strategy, shaping the BBC’s annual marketing plan, creating and implementing all pan-BBC marketing activity and overseeing the BBC’s brand identity. She was previously responsible for planning and scheduling the BBC’s media inventory across tv, radio and online, and ran the BBC’s CRM and continuity teams. Before joining the BBC Jane spent 10 years in advertising agencies and as a brand consultant planning campaigns for brands like Transport for London, the Evening Standard and Waitrose. Career highlights include helping to secure the BBC’s Royal Charter, and getting in the lift with Louis Theroux.

Hayley was appointed Director of BBC Scotland in November 2024.

A graduate of the University of Edinburgh, Hayley worked as a journalist at DC Thomson and Radio Forth before joining the BBC in 1996. Since then, she has held a variety of roles including Executive Editor of BBC One’s Question Time, Director of Current Affairs at Mentorn Media, Head of News at BBC Radio 5 Live, Head of BBC News’ radio newsroom and Launch Editor of BBC Scotland’s The Nine.

Prior to Hayley taking on her current responsibilities, she was Senior Head of Content Production for the BBC in the Midlands, leading the BBC’s local services for radio, TV and online across the West and East Midlands. 

Louise started her career at the BBC in Belfast working in production across Radio, TV and Online services. She flew the BBC nest and started working on independent shorts and features, producing her first feature film, A Bump Along The Way, in 2018. She joined Hat Trick at the start of 2020 to run their most westerly outpost in Belfast, seeking out new and exciting projects from across Ireland. She is Co-Creator and Co-Producer with Two Cities TV on BBC's BLUE LIGHTS.

Claire Mundell is an award-winning Executive Producer/Producer and Founder/CEO of Synchronicity Films, a scripted and feature film production company. Claire's most recent production is THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ, a double Emmy nominated, 6-part premium limited series adaptation of the Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller for Sky Atlantic, Peacock, Stan, All3Media International and NBCU, which aired in the UK, US, Australia, and many other territories globally. Two-time Oscar winner Hans Zimmer and Kara Talve composed the score for the series, and the series features an original song by Barbra Streisand - "Love Will Survive". In 2023, Claire won a BAFTA for Best Scripted at the BAFTA Scotland 2023 Awards for Synchronicity's adaptation of Andrew O'Hagan's acclaimed novel MAYFLIES, which Claire executive produced for BBC One. With Synchronicity, Claire has established a scripted indie with a reputation for critically acclaimed IP. Other company credits include the BAFTA and RTS-winning BBC One/ABC series THE CRY, a psychological thriller starring Jenna Coleman. Other current projects include Graeme Armstrong's blistering debut, THE YOUNG TEAM. Films include the BIFA-winning and BAFTA-nominated ONLY YOU by Harry Wootliff, Andrew Haigh's celebrated WEEKEND, and Karen Gillan's directorial debut feature THE PARTY'S JUST BEGINNING.

David Olusoga is a British-Nigerian historian, author, BAFTA winning film-maker and presenter. He produced and presented the award winning series - Black & British: A Forgotten History, Union With David Olusoga and the BAFTA winning Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners. Among his other presenting credits are The World's War, and The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files, Extra Life- a Short History of Living Longer and the landmark BBC arts series Civilizations. He also presented the long-running BBC history series A House Through Time. David is the founder of Hillgate Films, a factual production label, and in his work as an Exec Producer has produced and developed projects for the BBC, Channel 4, Disney+, ITV, Channel 5 and the Smithsonian Channel. David is a recipient of the BAFTA Special Award, the British Academy's Presidents Medal and the Norton Medlicott Medal For Services to History. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, The Royal Society of Literature, The Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Historical Society.

Kirsty Wark is one of Britain's most experienced television journalists.  She has presented a wide range of programmes - from the ground breaking Late Show to Election specials, live stadium events to documentaries.  She is best known as an anchor on the BBC’s flagship News & Current Affairs show Newsnight.  Kirsty has won several major awards for her work including BAFTA Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting and Best Television Presenter.  Last year, she was honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the RTS Journalism Awards.  In addition to presenting on television, hosts BBC Radio 4’s long-running flagship series The Reunion is a presenter on Front Row.  She continues to present arts programmes on TV and Radio, cultural history series such as The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland and Panorama specials.  Kirsty has written two novels – The Legacy Of Elizabeth Pringle and The House By The Loch – both published by Two Roads.  She is currently writing her third novel.

Munya Chawawa is a trailblazer in comedy, blending sharp satire with absurdity to dissect political chaos and cultural moments. Known for his viral sketches and thought-provoking commentary, he’s amassed over a billion views and 3 million followers. With his production company Munz Made It, Munya’s creative empire expands beyond comedy, including his recent work on Race Across Britain. He’s also pioneering a fresh interview format, The Understudy, where he hilariously takes on the role of understudy to celebrities—his recent chat with Brian Cox for Comic relief about his recent play The Score is a fan favorite. Munya’s rise has seen him transcend digital platforms into acting (The Sandman, Rye Lane) and presenting (MOBO Awards, ITV2’s BRIT coverage). With a sharp eye for cultural relevance, he’s also made his mark with BBC Radio 4’s Election Doom Scroll and Channel 4’s How to Survive a Dictator, the latter earning BAFTA recognition. He’s an avid supporter of young Black talent, founding Black Boys Theatre Club to introduce students from under-performing schools to theatre. Through his evolving career, Munya continues to redefine comedy, entertainment, and what it means to carve out a legacy in the modern cultural landscape.

Jasmine Dawson is Senior Vice President of Digital working within the Brands and Licensing division of BBC Studios. Jasmine leads on the global digital strategy, bringing the content and commercial arms together, with ultimate responsibility for driving audience and bottom-line growth for BBC Studio’s digital brands. Jasmine has led the digital team since 2019, under her leadership the team has grown their digital footprint, delivered an award-winning content strategy, and increased their revenues by 54%. An award-winning digital specialist, she has over 15 years’ experience in London and New York both in-house and agency side working with blue chip brands such as The New York Times, Hulu, Revlon, Mars, Sky, A-B InBev, British Airways and BT. Her projects have seen award wins at Cannes Lions, AdWeek and the Shorty Awards. She has substantial experience driving digital transformation and developing brands’ digital footprint, focusing on relevance, reach and revenues.

Sean Clarke is a senior entertainment executive with over 25 years of experience in animated entertainment. His core expertise spans leadership of senior management teams, strategic planning, IP financing and brand development, integrated marketing campaigns across film, television, and digital platforms, as well as extending brands into consumer products and location-based entertainment. Sean is a co-executive producer of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Netflix's original film Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, and an executive producer on the preschool series Very Small Creatures for Sky. In November 2019, Sean was appointed CEO of the multi-Academy Award®-winning Aardman Animations, succeeding co-founder David Sproxton after his 43-year tenure. Sean has been with Aardman for over two decades and previously led the Sales and Marketing division for more than ten years, playing a pivotal role in shaping the studio's global brand presence.

Dennis Papirowski leads TikTok's Global Publisher Content team, overseeing strategy and operations that fuel innovation across sports, news, entertainment, and cultural storytelling. His career includes leadership roles at YouTube (Google), as well as founding his own media production and distribution venture-placing him at the forefront of Europe's digital evolution. His work focuses on leading teams developing new products, strategies, and business solutions to deliver exceptional business value for media partners on the platform.

Darren is an award winning author and broadcaster.

Ellis Howard is a Liverpool-born actor and writer working across television, theatre and film. He trained at Guildhall and is known for his breakout lead performance in the BBC's critically acclaimed series What It Feels Like for a Girl, based on Paris Lees' memoir. He is also an activist and public speaker, and founded Step Up For Scousers, a non-profit organisation fighting food insecurity and championing dignity and care in working-class communities across Liverpool.

Janice Okoh is a multi-award-winning playwright. Her first play, "Egusi Soup", was produced in 2012 by Menagerie Theatre/Soho Theatre and went on a national tour in 2014. It won a Channel 4 Playwriting Award in 2017. Her second play, "Three Birds", won the Bruntwood Playwriting Prize in 2011 and was shortlisted for the Verity Bargate and Alfred Fagon awards in that same year. It was produced in 2013. She adapted it into the critically acclaimed TV show titled "Just Act Normal", which aired on BBC3 in 2025. Janice has written on Sanditon for ITV / PBS and a single film, "A Mother's Love" for C4. She is also a multi-award-winning radio dramatist.

Chanise is an accomplished Journalist, Presenter, and Senior Advisor at the BBC. Recognised as one of the "Ones to Watch 2024/25" by the TV Foundation, a program which highlights television’s most talented rising stars. She began her career as an apprentice at BBC, contributing to BBC News Online, producing local Midlands stories for a global audience. Passionate about amplifying young voices in media, she worked as a Digital Journalist and Presenter for BBC Young Reporter. Beyond her day job, she presents high-profile events, podcasts, TikTok channels, and award ceremonies. Working with prestigious organisations such as, Aston Villa FC, Department for Education, The Sunday Times, England Netball, Commonwealth Games, and BBC Bitesize. A strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, Chanise is also British Sign Language level 2 qualified and currently pursuing her BSL 4. She is a representative on the TV Foundation’s Class and Social Equality working group and aims to further champion underrepresented voices and contribute to meaningful change. Her ability to connect with audiences makes her a standout figure in the industry.

Gemma is the Impact Director at the TV Foundation, the charitable arm of the Edinburgh TV Festival. Prior to that, Gemma was the Director of One World Media and focused on growing their support for new talent covering global stories. She is passionate about making the creative industries more accessible and the power of stories to open minds and create space for conversation and change - most recently focusing on making the TV industry open to all, the climate crisis and working class representation. Gemma started her career in public policy before a move to the US led to her working in the documentary industry as Director of Programs for the Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA), and prior to that as COO of San Francisco Green Film Festival.

Hannah is Head of Drama at Welsh production company Severn Screen where she works across the company's entire slate developing and producing a range of content for the international film and television market. Recent company credits include the Netflix feature film HAVOC (Dir. Gareth Evans); the feature film MR BURTON (staring Toby Jones and Lesley Manville); the six part drama for S4C and U&Alibi AR Y FFIN/MUDTOWN and the BAFTA winning crime drama, STEELTOWN MURDERS. Hannah is also the chair of the Leaders of Tomorrow working group which is a three-year inclusion programme focused on providing comprehensive and tailored support to mid-level professionals working in high-end TV.

After a 30 year career in front of the camera I applied to retrain with Sgil Cymru and become a Production Coordinator. Credits include "Lost Boys & Fairies", "Steeltown Murders" , "The Trick" and "Dal y Mellt". With the assistance of the Leaders of tomorrow scheme and my mentors,I have been guided and supported enough to step up. I soon became a Production manager for a Vox Pictures and have since become a Line Producer.I currently work for Mojo Productions based in Cardiff.

Frith is the MD, Executive Producer and one of the founders of Moonage Pictures. Currently in production with the second series of The Gentlemen for Netflix and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder for the BBC and Netflix She was also an Executive Producer on The Leopard for Netflix Italy, Bodies and Obsession for Netflix, The Pursuit of Love for the BBC and Amazon and Intergalactic and Curfew for Sky. Previously at Tiger Aspect, Frith's credits as Executive Producer include the BAFTA winning Peaky Blinders, Fortitude and Ripper Street and the BAFTA winning single films Marvellous and White Girl as HOP.

Laki is a VFX Production specialist with a background in VFX, Post and TV Production. A core member in teams pioneering new Virtual Production and animatronic technologies and familiar with high-end acquisition for use in the VFX pipeline. Laki has worked globally on several BAFTA winning and Oscar nominated productions from locations such as Jordan to Jamaica with the likes of Lucasfilm, Sony Pictures and Netflix and has seen first hand the benefit of connecting grassroots production crew with high end studio teams and how it positively impacts both local community creatives and the diversity and efficiency of Studio output. 
Recently selected as a Screenskills Leader of Tomorrow and a BAFTA Connect Member, Laki has also enjoyed working as a Writer and Creative Producer with films screening this year at Raindance and the UK Asian Film Festival whilst stepping into HOD roles as a VFX Production Manager and Producer. He enjoys tremendously the struggles of juggling his work with parenting and building a family and strives towards seeing Leadership evolve in the television industry to facilitate diversity, family and community in creative spaces. 

Meghan Lyvers, Executive Director of Original Scripted, leads the teams responsible for developing, commissioning, and producing unmissable Sky Original series and films. Meghan commissions projects directly from production companies and collaborates with talent to develop and produce projects in-house or through co-productions. This flexible business model enables creative partnerships and has resulted in some of Sky's biggest hits. Recent titles include Sky's biggest-ever series The Day of the Jackal, starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch; the critically acclaimed limited event series Lockerbie, starring Colin Firth; Sweetpea, featuring Ella Purnell; Gangs of London; and the record-breaking feature film LEE, starring Kate Winslet. Upcoming projects include The Iris Affair, starring Tom Hollander and Niamh Algar; Amadeus, starring Will Sharpe and Paul Bettany; The Death of Bunny Munro, based on Nick Cave's novel and starring Matt Smith as well as the return of fan-favourite shows Brassic and Mr Bigstuff, starring BAFTA winner Danny Dyer. The slate also includes the feature film NUREMBERG, starring Russell Crowe, Leo Woodall, and Rami Malek.

Caroline Cooper is COO at Sky Entertainment Group, Sky's European content arm, where she is responsible for all business operations, including production management, business affairs, international partnerships, and Sky's portfolio of production companies. Caroline led the launch of Sky Studios Elstree, Sky's state-of-the-art film and TV studio, and now oversees its day-to-day operations. Recognised as one of the top production facilities in the UK, the studio is home to major international productions including Wicked and Jurassic World Rebirth. She also oversees Sky's international partnership team, which is uniquely positioned to support global projects through its in-house co-production capabilities. The team's close relationship with NBCUniversal, Sky's sister company, provides a direct path to international distribution, enabling a highly agile and strategic approach to partnering and financing content for both local and global audiences.

Phil Edgar-Jones is responsible for driving the vision and strategy for the portfolio of Unscripted Programming at Sky, across Entertainment, Documentaries and Arts. He joined Sky as Head of Entertainment in 2012 and was appointed Director of Sky Arts in 2014, commissioning a wealth of successful programmes on all the arts genres. He also oversaw Sky Arts’ move to Freeview in 2020 and was awarded an OBE for services to the Arts in the 2023 New Years Honours list. For Sky Max he’s commissioned A League of their Own and Rob & Rom Vs… to Dynamo is Dead and Never Mind the Buzzcocks among others. He has recently added Sky Documentaries to his slate and is working with the team on a number of new developments. Prior to that, Edgar-Jones was Creative Director of Remarkable Pictures (part of Endemol UK) where he oversaw Big Brother during its Channel 4 years and entertainment projects including the first constructed reality show in the UK, The Salon. Edgar-Jones has also worked at Ginger TV (Exec Producer, The Priory); Absolutely (exec Producing The Jack Docherty Show); and on The Big Breakfast, The Word and The Sunday Show.

Boyd Hilton is a journalist, author, critic and broadcaster. As well as his two day jobs of Entertainment Director of Heat magazine, where he has worked since its launch in 1999, and Contributing Editor of Empire magazine, Boyd also co-hosts the weekly Pilot TV podcast, about to celebrate its 350th episode, and he also has a weekly podcast about Arsenal Football Club which has been going for 18 years. He frequently hosts TV and film events for Bafta, the RTS and the BFI, among many others. He has been a regular contributor to BBC Radio 5 Live and Front Row on Radio 4, reviewing television, books and films for over two decades. He has also written for Circle Zero Eight magazine, GQ, Man About Town, The Guardian and Observer.

Jack Thorne is a writer of film, television and theatre. He has won five BAFTAs: Best Mini-Series for THIS IS ENGLAND '88, Best Drama Series for THE FADES, Best Single Drama for DON'T TAKE MY BABY, Best Mini-Series for THIS IS ENGLAND '90, and Best Mini-Series for NATIONAL TREASURE. In 2022 he won the RTS Single Drama, The Rose D'Or and an International Emmy for HELP, and, in 2023, his single TV drama THEN BARBARA MET ALLEN won the Broadcast Best Single Drama Award. He is behind the recent Netflix hits ADOLESCENCE and TOXIC TOWN, and has adapted LORD OF THE FLIES for BBC (TXing later in 2025). Other TV credits include BEST INTERESTS, HIS DARK MATERIALS, THE ACCIDENT, and KIRI. In film, Jack has written all three ENOLA HOLMES films, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill, THE SWIMMERS, THE AERONAUTS starring Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne, WONDER starring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson, and JOY starring Bill Nighy, James Norton & Thomasin McKenzie. As a playwright, Jack has had a prolific career, with plays including HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, which won multiple Olivier and Tony Awards including Best New Play and Best Play, and most recently THE MOTIVE AND THE CUE, directed by Sam Mendes, which won the Critics' Circle Award for Best New Play. In 2022, Jack won the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Outstanding Contribution to Writing and the Royal Television Society's award for Outstanding Contribution to British Television.

Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism

Rebecca Dowell is a Manager at global management company, ThreeSixZero, representing some of the world's leading multi-hyphenate entertainment talent including Munya Chawawa, Amelia Dimoldenberg and Victor Kunda. Rebecca has a particular passion for nurturing talent and collaborating with those that demonstrate a unique voice, a distinct creative lens and an aspiration to work creatively across both digital and traditional broadcast mediums.

LA Times‑bestselling author & viral documentary innovator, Oobah Butler is a writer, filmmaker, and prankster whose audacious stunts catapulted him from a garden shed in Dulwich to global notoriety. In 2017, he created "The Shed at Dulwich"-a fictional restaurant that became London's top-rated dining spot on TripAdvisor - capturing worldwide media attention. He followed up with explosive viral films including faking his way to Paris Fashion Week and sending lookalikes to TV interviews around the world for VICE, all amassing hundreds of millions of views. His 2023 documentary The Great Amazon Heist (Channel 4), featuring undercover stunts-like selling Amazon drivers' urine as a bestseller energy drink-earned universal acclaim, a 5-star review in The Daily Telegraph, and wide coverage in international press. With over 500 million views online and groundbreaking TV hits, Oobah continues to challenge systems through inventive, insightful, and hilariously subversive media. Photo Credit: Chris Bethell

Fawkes develops, produces and exploits original entertainment formats for brands and digital broadcasters. Hosted by the world’s hottest online creators, our returnable shows are devised to transform brands into broadcasters and consumers into audiences, allowing us to test and iterate distinct content IP and exploit it in pioneering ways. Recent original formats include Baddest in the World (Channel 4.0), CEOs Go Wild (LinkedIn), Korea Ladder (Korean Tourism Board x Richard Sales), Texture Talks (L’Oreal x Paige Lewin), with yet-to-be-announced commissions in the worlds of dance, fetish wear, football, true crime and travel.

Mairi leads YouTube UK's relationships with major media organisations including broadcasters, production companies and publishers. She joined YouTube in 2021, and has worked across Strategy, Go To Market and Partnerships. Prior to joining YouTube, Mairi worked at Boston Consulting Group, the BBC, and Expedia.

As Managing Director, Martin is responsible for driving ITV Studios' ambitious digital business Zoo 55 forwards. Zoo 55 encompasses all of ITV Studios' FAST, social and gaming content, with a portfolio of 160+ owned and operated channels on YouTube, 18 FAST channels across 17 territories and 100+ platform feeds globally In his former role as Group Head of Digital at WarnerBros International TV Production, Martin was responsible for developing and implementing the Group's digital strategy, as well as digital content for brands, broadcasters and streamers. He worked across well known titles such as The Voice, Super Nanny, First Dates and The Bachelor planning and executing the monetisation of IP. He also led the global social media marketing team as they explored new content types, revenue models and ways to reinvigorate and reinvent existing brands. Prior to this, Martin was Creative Director of Twofour Digital, now part of ITV Studios. He had several roles at the BBC including Head of Cross Platform Production and Comedy and Entertainment Commissioning Executive. He ran the early digital teams for Doctor Who and EastEnders as well as helping develop new formats such as the BAFTA-winning Celebdaq.

As Head of Digital Commissioning at Channel 4, Sacha oversees all original and branded digital content commissioning across social and online platforms. His team are responsible for the BAFTA award winning, How to be a Person and BAFTA nominated King Pin Cribs. He led the launch of Channel 4.0, Channel 4's digital-first brand for YouTube, which received two awards at the 2023 Broadcast Digital Awards, notably winning Entertainment Channel of the Year. Sacha's previous roles include Head of Video at LADbible, Group Director of Video at UNILAD and Head of Video at Bauer Media Group.

Sarah is the Founder and CEO of Brock Media, a London-based production company working across Film, Television and Audio to make premium entertainment for a global audience. She was nominated for the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British producer for her first feature BLACK POND directed by Will Sharpe and Tom Kingsley and then went on to produce ANIMALS, the BIFA-winning adaptation of Emma Jane Unsworth's novel directed by Sophie Hyde, and most recently THE OUTRUN, directed by Nora Fingscheidt and starring Saoirse Ronan, based on the memoir by Amy Liptrot, which was nominated at the BAFTAs for Lead Actress and Best British Film. Brock Media is currently in post-production on EXTRA GEOGRAPHY the debut feature of director Molly Manners and screenwriter Miriam Battye, as well as the Audible adaptation of PRIDE & PREJUDICE starring Marisa Abela, Harris Dickinson, Jessie Buckley, Will Poulter, Bill Nighy and Marianne Jean-Baptiste which will be released on 9th September 2025. The company is driving forward a slate of TV projects in development with various broadcasters, which include literary adaptations, bold originals and compelling true stories, working with some of the most exciting drama and comedy voices in the UK.

Georgie Yukiko Donovan is a British-Japanese filmmaker and Supervising Producer for the Netflix Documentary Talent Fund. Her work blends cinematic visuals with intimate storytelling, often exploring identity, resilience, and social justice. She has directed award-winning films and series for Netflix, Channel News Asia, and the BBC, with stories ranging from racial identity in Japan and anti-feminism in South Korea to hostage negotiations in Nigeria and trauma recovery in war veterans.

Alongside her directing work, Georgie is the Director of Rising Waves, an organisation supporting British East and South East Asian (BESEA) creatives across film, TV, and theatre. She was an inaugural recipient of the Film and TV Charity’s Reel Impact Fund and has been recognised as a 2025 Film London Lodestar, a 2025/26 BAFTA Elevate fellow, and a Breakthrough Leader by the TV Collective. Recent credits include Heart of Invictus (Netflix, Unit Director), The Negotiators (CNA, Producer/Director), and the Netflix Documentary Talent Fund, where she supports the next generation of UK documentary filmmakers.

Kris joined EastEnders in 2010 as a storyliner, before moving to the Script team where he became Senior Script Producer. He went on to produce two episodes of Casualty and the Mitchells' 1985 Flashback episode, before joining the Drama Productions team as Training Executive. Kris is responsible for the training and outreach strategy for all on and off-screen talent across the portfolio.

Colin is a celebrated British actor known for his commanding screen presence and standout roles in James Bond, Resident Evil, Doctor Who, and more. A passionate advocate for arts education, Colin has mentored young and aspiring talent throughout his career. He currently stars in EastEnders as George Knight, bringing depth and heart to one of Walford's newest families.

Michelle first rose to fame as Cindy Beale in EastEnders, becoming one of British television's most iconic characters. Alongside acclaimed roles in Coronation Street, Real Women, and numerous stage productions, Michelle has long championed working-class voices and supported new writing. She is now back in EastEnders, reprising her role as Cindy and shaking things up in Albert Square once again.

Morgane Perrolier is a graduate of the ESCP Europe Master's program in Media Management. She began her journey at CANAL+ in 2009, within the Programming Department's editorial strategy team, where she kept a finger on the pulse of evolving viewer tastes and industry trends. In 2015, she joined CANAL+ Création Originale, stepping into the heart of scripted storytelling. Since then, she has played a key role in the development and production of a wide range of acclaimed French and international series. Over the past ten years, she has contributed to more than fifteen titles, including Spiral and The Bureau - stories that reflect the bold, diverse, and ever-evolving voice of CANAL+ fiction.

Jon oversees Global Programming for Britbox International, BBC Studios fast-growing streamer with a strong base in North America. Jon leads all areas of programming, from commissions and acquisitions to strategy and planning. Under Jon's watch, Britbox has become a key part of the British drama eco-system. He has led a push into original commissions, helping to make Britbox an essential partner for production companies and distributors looking to finance new projects. Jon's career includes an earlier stint at BBC Studios, where he was Global VOD Director and conceptualised and launched BBC Select, the BBC's first wholly branded streamer in North America. He was also the first Programming Lead for Sky Showtime, the European streamer JV between Comcast and Paramount, building the division and launching 10 original dramas in the first 12 months.

Vesper's role sees him build on Fremantle's impressive portfolio of scripted drama, films and dailies operations across the US and Europe, with direct oversight of Fremantle's scripted labels, including Miso Film (Face to Face, The Investigation), Wildside (My Brilliant Friend, Eight Mountains, C'Ancora Domani), The Apartment (Priscilla, Bones and All, Supersex, The Hand of God), Dancing Ledge (The Responder, Domino Day) and Element Pictures (Poor Things, The Favourite, Normal People, Conversations With Friends). Fremantle's North America scripted business and labels also report into Vesper. In addition, Christian and his team oversee Fremantle's impressive roster of talent partnerships and deals, which includes Kristen Stewart's Nevermind Pictures, Luca Guadagnino, Paolo Sorrentino, Rachel Weisz and Polly Stokes' Astral Projection, Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín's Fabula, BAFTA-winning Roughcut TV, Stefano Sollima's AlterEgo, BAFTA-winning Me+You Productions, Edward Berger and his label Nine Hours, Johan Renck and Michael Parets' Sinestra, Sarah Condon's Fair Harbour and Patrick Daly's Caledonia Productions. Christian joined Fremantle in 2016 as Executive Vice President and Creative Director, Global Drama, and was promoted in 2024 to CEO, Global Drama and Film. He was previously drama chief at Sundance TV where he oversaw critically acclaimed international productions.

Kelsey Balance is Executive Vice President of Global Scripted Series at Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group. She oversees a broad slate of premium scripted content for global platforms, championing diverse and emerging voices. She reports to Beatrice Springborn, President of UCP and Universal International Studios. Balance leads creative across the studio's expansive lineup of award-winning programming for global broadcast, streaming and cable platforms. Notable titles include Golden Globe and BAFTA-nominated series 'The Day of the Jackal', International Emmy® Award-winning 'Safe Harbour', BAFTA-winning 'We Are Lady Parts', 'One Day', 'Apples Never Fall', BAFTA-nominated 'Everyone Else Burns', 'The Capture', 'Clickbait', 'Stateless', 'Transplant', 'Allegiance', 'All Her Fault', 'Lockerbie', 'The Survivors', 'Too Much' and more. She also works closely with the studio's production companies, including Working Title, Heyday, Carnival Films, Matchbox and Lark Productions, to package and support their scripted programming. Before joining Universal International Studios in 2018, Balance was Head of Programming at NBCUniversal's comedy streamer Seeso, where she oversaw originals, acquisitions and co-productions such as 'Flowers', 'Take My Wife' and 'HarmonQuest'. She holds a bachelor's degree in Communication Studies from UCLA and is based in Los Angeles.

With over 25 years' experience internationally and in Australia, Beverley McGarvey was appointed President of Network 10, Head of Streaming and Regional Lead for Australia and New Zealand in 2024. She is responsible for both the commercial and creative leadership of Paramount's multi-platform business in Australia. Before joining Network 10 in a content leadership role in 2006 Beverley began her career in the creative team at UTV in Belfast before working in programming and production at TV3 Ireland and at ITV's Meridian Television in England. She later joined TV3 New Zealand, where she was Director of Programming for several years. Over the years at 10 Beverley has been responsible with her team for the successful launch of many local shows, including Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Cheap Seats, Survivor, I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Offspring and Five Bedrooms. More recently, Paramount+ has launched NCIS: SYDNEY, along with local drama Last King of The Cross and Fake, and is about to launch Playing Grace Darling and an Australian adaptation of Ghosts.

Wayne Garvie is President of International Production at Sony Pictures Television (SPT) and oversees SPT’s global network of production companies outside the US, covering Europe, Latin America and Australia. The 16 wholly-owned or joint venture production companies within the business deliver both original and formatted content for local broadcasters in their markets, and create nearly 1,500 hours of entertainment around the world each year. He is also responsible for driving creative development within international production, steering the business to develop locally created properties into global formats and fostering codevelopments across the group. Garvie joined SPT in June 2012 and reports to Keith Le Goy, Chairman, Sony Pictures Television. He joined SPT from All3MEDIA, where he was Managing Director, International Production with special responsibility for the company's growth in the US. Previously, Garvie was Managing Director for Content & Production at BBC worldwide, responsible for establishing the corporation's global network of production companies and overseeing its international formats business. Prior to that role, he was Head of Entertainment Group for the BBC, where his teams were behind shows like Strictly Come Dancing and Dragons’ Den. Garvie also held senior positions in UK broadcasting, including Director of Broadcasting for Granada. Garvie holds a First Class Honours degree and Honorary DLitt from the University of Kent and is both a PhD in Economic History and Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Sheffield.

Katy Manley is the Managing Director of Initial (a Banijay UK label), where she is responsible for all aspects of creative output and direction, as well as overseeing all productions on its slate. Katy worked her way up the industry on a variety of shows including It's A Knockout, Distraction, Catchphrase, Your Face or Mine, V Graham Norton and QI. She later began to specialise in large scale reality and entertainment shows, and has overseen the reality juggernaut of Big Brother since 2010; managing the successful transition of the show from Channel 4 to Channel 5 and most recently to ITV. Reinvigorating the brand and overseeing the creative strategy across all shows, she has been responsible for hundreds of hours of television every year. In a career spanning over 20 years, she has worked on some of the biggest shows on television. Specialising in large-scale, ambitious reality and entertainment shows, she is currently responsible for a raft of shows that include Big Brother, Celebrity Big Brother, Soccer Aid (ITV), 99 To Beat (ITV and Fox) and Last One Laughing (Amazon Prime).

Phil Edgar-Jones is responsible for driving the vision and strategy for the portfolio of Unscripted Programming at Sky, across Entertainment, Documentaries and Arts. He joined Sky as Head of Entertainment in 2012 and was appointed Director of Sky Arts in 2014, commissioning a wealth of successful programmes on all the arts genres. He also oversaw Sky Arts’ move to Freeview in 2020 and was awarded an OBE for services to the Arts in the 2023 New Years Honours list. For Sky Max he’s commissioned A League of their Own and Rob & Rom Vs… to Dynamo is Dead and Never Mind the Buzzcocks among others. He has recently added Sky Documentaries to his slate and is working with the team on a number of new developments. Prior to that, Edgar-Jones was Creative Director of Remarkable Pictures (part of Endemol UK) where he oversaw Big Brother during its Channel 4 years and entertainment projects including the first constructed reality show in the UK, The Salon. Edgar-Jones has also worked at Ginger TV (Exec Producer, The Priory); Absolutely (exec Producing The Jack Docherty Show); and on The Big Breakfast, The Word and The Sunday Show.

Award-winning producer Natalka Znak's 'ZnakTV' is CEO of Remarkable Entertainment, Initial and the US based ZnakTV.

Chris Hughes is a British Television Personality and Presenter who rose to fame in 2017 as a contestant and finalist on the third series of ITV2's Love Island. Following his Love Island success, Chris has built a varied TV career. He's starred in several reality and documentary-style series, including 'You Vs. Chris & Kem' alongside his close friend and fellow islander Kem Cetinay, and 'Me, My Brother and Our Balls', a well-received documentary in which he explored male fertility and health issues, inspired by his brother's personal journey. Chris has also worked as a racing pundit and presenter for ITV Racing, reflecting his lifelong passion for horses and equestrian sports. More recently, his participation in Celebrity Big Brother earlier this year added another high-profile chapter to his career; showcasing his values, emotional honesty, and reality TV savviness.

Ria Hebden is a dynamic TV presenter, award-nominated entrepreneur, and passionate advocate for diversity in media. She is the Founder and CEO of Wonder Women, a leading network supporting underrepresented women in TV and the Creative Industries, and the founder of Carpe Diem Media Productions, dedicated to telling bold, diverse stories.

A familiar face on ITV’s Lorraine, Ria has also presented Sunday Morning Live on BBC One, All Around Britain on ITV, and reported for Good Morning America at the King’s Coronation. She’s covered the BAFTA Film Awards for BritBox America and interviewed stars like Harrison Ford, Idris Elba, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

Through Wonder Women, Ria delivers impactful mentorship, masterclasses, and live events, including the flagship Wonder Women Conference—empowering mid-level women from marginalised backgrounds to rise in TV and media.

Before her on-screen career, Ria was a successful publicist for Disney, Discovery, Fox, and Channel 4. She is now a BAFTA voting member, ambassador for MAMA Youth Project and Peer Power, and a multiple National Diversity Award nominee. Ria Hebden isn’t just a presenter—she’s a trailblazer shaping the future of British television.

Kate was appointed Chief Content Officer in June 2025 after a period as Interim Chief Content Officer following Charlotte Moore’s departure from the BBC earlier this year.

Jon was appointed the BBC's Director of Comedy in July 2021. He joined the BBC from Netflix-invested indie, Broke and Bones, owned by Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones, where he was Head of Comedy. Previously he was Comedy Commissioning Editor at Channel 4 where he oversaw The Windsors, Friday Night Dinner and Dead Pixels. Jon started his career at Talkback Productions, before moving to Roughcut Television, making internet comedy shorts for BBC Comedy (including cult hit Misery Bear). He went on to nurture a portfolio of new wave talent for television, including Anna and Katy (C4), Bafta and RTS winning Stath Lets Flats (C4) and all five series of the Bafta and RTS winning People Just Do Nothing, executive producing from series 4. In 2018 he oversaw People Just Do Nothing USA (Amazon) and in 2019 worked with BBC Films on the feature film People Just Do Nothing: Big In Japan.

Scott Bryan is a TV Critic and Broadcaster based in London. He is the co-host of the TV Review podcast on Must Watch on BBC Sounds and regularly appears on BBC Breakfast and 5Live. He has also written for The New York Times, The Guardian, Variety and more. He also hosted The Bachelor of Buckingham Palace, an investigative podcast on BBC Sounds.

Syeda Irtizaali is currently Interim BBC Director of Unscripted. Prior to that, in her role as Editor of Unscripted for the BBC, she has overseen content slates and strategy across Documentaries, Specialist Factual, Entertainment, Factual Entertainment, Arts, Daytime and Storyville. She also oversees hit series The Traitors UK after securing it for the BBC. Syeda started her career as a journalist with BBC News and went on to work as a producer and executive producer in entertainment, factual entertainment and documentary across several independent production companies including Monkey, Planet 24, Diverse, At It and Brighter. She had a substantial stint as a Commissioning Editor for Entertainment and Live Events at Channel 4 and was responsible for commissioning and overseeing hits such as "Alan Carr: Chatty Man," "The Million Pound Drop," "The Last Leg," "The Big Fat Quiz of The Year", "The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan" and "The Big Narstie Show." She returned to the BBC in 2020 as Commissioning Editor in Entertainment before being promoted to Portfolio Editor for BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four and BBC iPlayer within Dan McGolpin's team overseeing channel and iPlayer content strategy.

Lindsay joined the BBC as Director of Drama in September 2022. She has the widest remit within British drama broadcasting and is responsible for delivering distinctive, world-beating content on BBC iPlayer and the portfolio of channels.

The BBC Drama slate includes crime dramas Blue Lights, This City is Ours, Vigil and The Jetty, literary adaptations Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, Lord of the Flies, The Night Manager and Mr Loverman, state of the nation dramas including Dear England, The Ministry of Time and Sherwood, and character-led series such as Riot Women, The Dream Lands, Boarders, What It Feels Like for a Girl, Reunion and The Split Up. Long-running favourites Doctor Who, EastEnders, Casualty, Silent Witness, Call the Midwife, Shetland and Death in Paradise are a key part of the slate.

Previously, Lindsay was part of the first UK Scripted team at Netflix, where she helped to establish a new slate and commissioned shows including hit series Baby Reindeer and One Day. She also worked on Heartstopper and The Crown season five.

Prior to that, she was Head of Development at Sky Drama UK, where she ran the development slate for Sky One and Sky Atlantic and worked across developments ranging from The Lazarus Project to The Third Day. Lindsay started her career at Left Bank Pictures where she worked across a range of productions and developments both as a producer and script editor.

Marianna Spring is the BBC's social media investigations correspondent and an award-winning journalist. She presents podcasts and documentaries investigating the real-world consequences of what's unfolding on social media - disinformation, hate, algorithms - for BBC Radio 4, BBC Panorama and BBC Three. Her latest series include Marianna in Conspiracyland and Why Do You Hate Me. She is also one of the presenters of the BBC's Americast podcast. She was been named Best Host at both the ARIAS and British Podcast Awards. Her first book Among the Trolls: My Journey Through Conspiracyland was published in 2024 by Atlantic.

Millennials and Gen Z have grown up watching Matt's documentaries for the BBC, Vice, and Channel Four. To date, his films have been watched more than 150 million times. In 2023, Matt broke the biggest story of the year with his (Emmy and Paul Foot nominated) BBC doc, He followed that up with with and has fronted C4's investigative strand, Dispatches, including the most highly-viewed episode of the series, about the UK's organised shoplifting gangs. He has infiltrated the Albanian mafia and Colombian cartels, had a near-death experience with Wim Hof, carried out undercover investigations, and gone head-to-head with leaders of the far right. At VICE, Shea produced the Emmy-nominated , the Grierson-nominated feature length documentary , and created and presented the popular series, . Matt directed the feature film about the global underground euthanasia movement, which won Best Film at Fragments Film Festival. He also directed , which was nominated for best Music Film at the UK Music Video Awards. Matt has written for VICE, the Times, The Guardian and is the co- author, with Jamie Tahsin, of , which was recently nominated for the Sperber prize. As someone with a unique insight into the world of Andrew Tate, he is often asked to commentate on the manosphere, including recent appearances on CNN's Jake Tapper show and ITV's Good Morning Britain.

Andrew Dagnell was appointed Director of News and Current Affairs of ITV in January 2025. He oversees all national and regional news content and programming produced by the broadcaster, as well as its current affairs slate, including Tonight, Exposure, Peston and the Martin Lewis Money Show. He was previously Editor of ITV Network News, where he had worked for 10 years steering coverage during the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the Covid pandemic and the death of Queen Elizabeth II, as well as exclusives and investigations including the Partygate investigation, exposes on social housing and the Post Office and the award-winning coverage of the riots on Capitol Hill. Andrew began his career in broadcasting in breakfast TV. Before that he worked in regional and national newspapers.

Louisa Compton is Head of News and Current Affairs and Specialist Factual and Sport at Channel 4. She oversees Channel 4 News, Dispatches, Unreported World and Untold. She has set up an in-house investigations unit and launched Untold, aimed at bringing current affairs to 16-34-year-olds. She was behind the recent Dispatches investigation into Russell Brand, the Tokyo and Paris Paralympics and coverage of the 2024 UK and US elections.

Sue Murphy is Director Factual Entertainment ITV and leads a team commissioning Primetime Programmes for ITV, ITVX and ITV2 including Lee Mack's The 1% Club, Olivia Attwood's Bad Boyfriends, Bradley and Barney Breaking Dad, Olivia Attwood Getting Filthy Rich and Price of Perfection, TikTok Murder Gone Viral and Social Media Murders. Prior to joining ITV Sue's previous roles included Creative Director and Joint Managing Director at Optomen TV, Head of Factual Entertainment at Channel 5 and for10 years was Head of Features and Factual Entertainment at Channel 4, responsible with her team for many iconic Factual Entertainment Brands including Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and The F Word, the campaigning Big Food Fights, Embarrassing Bodies, Undercover Boss, How to Look Good Naked, Supersize vs Superskinny, Sexual Education vs Porn, Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners and hundreds of hours of successful, award-winning Factual Entertainment Formats and Documentaries. Sue started her career at Granada TV as film researcher on World in Action amongst other shows and also did her time on Granada Tonight and This Morning.

Scott Bryan is a TV Critic and Broadcaster based in London. He is the co-host of the TV Review podcast on Must Watch on BBC Sounds and regularly appears on BBC Breakfast and 5Live. He has also written for The New York Times, The Guardian, Variety and more. He also hosted The Bachelor of Buckingham Palace, an investigative podcast on BBC Sounds.

Kevin Lygo is ITV’s Managing Director, Media and Entertainment, overseeing content commissioning and a budget of circa £1 billion. He became ITV’s Director of Television in 2016. Notable commissions during his time include Mr Bates Vs The Post Office and The Masked Singer.

Polly Hill - Director of Drama, ITV Polly Hill is currently Director of Drama at ITV, responsible for all original drama commissions across ITV & ITVX. She was responsible for commissioning Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, the channel's biggest drama in over 20 years. Other commissions include Until I Kill You, TriggerPoint, RedEye, The Long Shadow, The Thief His wife and The Canoe, Des and Breathtaking among many. Before joining ITV Polly was at the BBC for 10 years, as Controller of Drama and before that Head of Independent Drama. She was responsible for a number of award winning shows and huge hits from The Night Manager, The Missing, The Street, The Shadow Line The Honourable Woman, Wolf Hall Death in Paradise and Poldark Before joining the BBC Polly was a producer on Cherished which won a Grierson Award, she was part of the commissioning team at C4 working on the first series of Teachers. Her first break in tv after university came with Verity Lambert at Cinema Verity, before getting her first script editing job on EastEnders.

Louise Major is a BAFTA-winning Exec Producer. She joined ITV Entertainment Commissioning in 2017. During her tenure, she has overseen flagship shows such as Britain's Got Talent, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, and The BRIT Awards. Her commissions include titles such as DNA Journey, Britain's Got Talent: The Champions, In For A Penny, Dress The Nation, The Oscars, and more recently, You Bet On Tour, Celebrity Sabotage, and The Neighbourhood.

Kaio Grizzelle is a Digital Commissioning Executive at Channel 4, where he commissions original, unscripted entertainment programmes for the broadcaster's youth-focused, award-winning digital brand Channel 4.0. He has been working with digital talent and creators to build channels and create premium entertainment on YouTube since 2017. Kaio was recognised as a Broadcast Hotshot in 2023 for commissioning and is part of the TV Collective's 2025 Breakthrough Leaders cohort.

Specs Gonzalez is a trailblazer in the UK media scene, known for his sharp wit and versatile talent across multiple platforms. His career reached a milestone in 2024 with a MOBO Award Nomination for Best Media Personality, cementing his place as a rising star. Specs' journey began in the grime scene with Aftershock, working alongside artists such as Tinie Tempah and has since evolved into a dynamic and charismatic media talent. With over 1 million social media followers, Specs has captivated an incredibly engaged audience with his unique comedic content, and co-hosted the popular football history podcast 'If Blackburn signed Zidane' on BBC Sounds and at the end of 2024, hosted Channel 4.0's comedy panel show 'Here me out'; one of his most exciting roles yet. Specs hosts his weekly hit podcast called, 'No Rules Show', which is an unapologetically unpredictable show where "anything is possible" and there are "no rules". In this one-of-a-kind show, Specs invites a variety of guests to dissect and navigate hilarious, off-the-wall conversations, which often take unexpected turns. Whether they are discussing wild theories or everyday life, Spec' unfiltered approach makes every episode a fun and unforgettable experience. Across his career, Specs has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including JD Sports, Quick books, SkySports and Percil, bringing his energetic flair to each and every partnership.

Jamie is a BAFTA-Nominated producer, who is the Head of Originals at After Party Studios. Originally working in the studio system, Jamie has produced numerous shows for both digital and more traditional platforms . Most recently Executive Producing Hear Me Out and Don't Get Catfished for Channel 4, Scenes for Sky Sports, and multiple shows for BBC Studios Digital. Along with TV he has produced numerous films, most recently as the associate producer for an upcoming Focus Features/Film 4 Film

Tranter is one of the industry’s most respected and celebrated television executives.
 
A recipient of the Bafta Special Award for her contribution to television, Tranter previously served as the BBC’s Controller of Drama and subsequently Controller of Fiction, before moving to Los Angeles to found and run production companies BBC Worldwide Productions and Adjacent Productions for BBC Worldwide.  
 
In 2015, she returned to the UK and with Julie Gardner founded the production company Bad Wolf, headquartered in Wolf Studios in Cardiff, with the purpose of creating ambitious, imaginative and relevant drama for UK, US and global television audiences.  
 
Tranter’s credits for Bad Wolf include the multiple Emmy Award-winning series’ “The Night Of”, three seasons each of BAFTA-winning series “His Dark Materials” and “Industry”, three seasons of the hugely popular “A Discovery of Witches” and two seasons of the BAFTA-winning “I Hate Suzie” and “Doctor Who”.  Recent releases include an adaptation of Bernard Cornwell’s “The Winter King” and “Dope Girls”.  Currently in production is a fourth season of “Industry” for HBO, a second season of “Red Eye” for ITV and new dramas “The Other Bennet Sister” for BBC/BritBox and “The War Between the Land and the Sea” for BBC and Disney Branded Television. Future projects include “Berlin Noir”, a drama based on Metropolis from Philip Kerr’s best-selling book series for Apple, co-produced with Playtone and starring Jack Lowden. 
 
In addition to the above, Tranter was also an Executive Producer on the multiple award-winning series “Succession”. 
 
In 2025 she was made a CBE in the King’s birthday honour’s list for her contribution to the television industry.

Wayne Garvie is President of International Production at Sony Pictures Television (SPT) and oversees SPT’s global network of production companies outside the US, covering Europe, Latin America and Australia. The 16 wholly-owned or joint venture production companies within the business deliver both original and formatted content for local broadcasters in their markets, and create nearly 1,500 hours of entertainment around the world each year. He is also responsible for driving creative development within international production, steering the business to develop locally created properties into global formats and fostering codevelopments across the group. Garvie joined SPT in June 2012 and reports to Keith Le Goy, Chairman, Sony Pictures Television. He joined SPT from All3MEDIA, where he was Managing Director, International Production with special responsibility for the company's growth in the US. Previously, Garvie was Managing Director for Content & Production at BBC worldwide, responsible for establishing the corporation's global network of production companies and overseeing its international formats business. Prior to that role, he was Head of Entertainment Group for the BBC, where his teams were behind shows like Strictly Come Dancing and Dragons’ Den. Garvie also held senior positions in UK broadcasting, including Director of Broadcasting for Granada. Garvie holds a First Class Honours degree and Honorary DLitt from the University of Kent and is both a PhD in Economic History and Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Sheffield.

Cat is a senior commissioning executive at Amazon MGM Studios, leading on their formats, fact-ent and entertainment slate. Since starting at Amazon in 2022, she has overseen series including Road to a Million Series 2, Married to the Game and Romesh and Tom Take Takeshi's Castle. Most recently she commissioned ob-doc series Molly Mae: Behind it all, and the UK iteration of Last One Laughing. Prior to Amazon, Cat was co-MD at Banijay label Initial - producers of Big Brother, Tenable and Soccer Aid. Working in development and production for a number of different companies over the years, she started her career as a creative intern at Endemol and went on to run the scheme, managing and training several teams of development creatives.

Katy Manley is the Managing Director of Initial (a Banijay UK label), where she is responsible for all aspects of creative output and direction, as well as overseeing all productions on its slate. Katy worked her way up the industry on a variety of shows including It's A Knockout, Distraction, Catchphrase, Your Face or Mine, V Graham Norton and QI. She later began to specialise in large scale reality and entertainment shows, and has overseen the reality juggernaut of Big Brother since 2010; managing the successful transition of the show from Channel 4 to Channel 5 and most recently to ITV. Reinvigorating the brand and overseeing the creative strategy across all shows, she has been responsible for hundreds of hours of television every year. In a career spanning over 20 years, she has worked on some of the biggest shows on television. Specialising in large-scale, ambitious reality and entertainment shows, she is currently responsible for a raft of shows that include Big Brother, Celebrity Big Brother, Soccer Aid (ITV), 99 To Beat (ITV and Fox) and Last One Laughing (Amazon Prime).

Boyd Hilton is a journalist, author, critic and broadcaster. As well as his two day jobs of Entertainment Director of Heat magazine, where he has worked since its launch in 1999, and Contributing Editor of Empire magazine, Boyd also co-hosts the weekly Pilot TV podcast, about to celebrate its 350th episode, and he also has a weekly podcast about Arsenal Football Club which has been going for 18 years. He frequently hosts TV and film events for Bafta, the RTS and the BFI, among many others. He has been a regular contributor to BBC Radio 5 Live and Front Row on Radio 4, reviewing television, books and films for over two decades. He has also written for Circle Zero Eight magazine, GQ, Man About Town, The Guardian and Observer.

Sorcha Groundsell has just starred as the lead in new flagship BBC Alba drama AN T-EILEAN (THE ISLAND). The show won the Drama Prize at the Prix CIRCOM 2025 Awards. Other TV credits include; THE LONG SHADOW for ITV: playing leading role 'June' in Netflix's series THE INNOCENTS; SHETLAND; HIS DARK MATERIALS for HBO/BBC; GRANTCHESTER for ITV and CLIQUE for BBC. Spotlight CV: https://app.spotlight.com/2456-0198-1822 CVGG Profile: https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/sorcha-groundsell/ Showreel: https://vimeo.com/1069654490/ed7621b35a?share=copy

Bill is a Commissioning Editor at MG Alba with a special responsibility for scripted kids' content. He's helped bring several award-winning titles to the screen including An t-Eilean and the sketch show FUNC. Bill began his media career in BBC Scotland's Gaelic Department where he was responsible for some of its most popular and critically acclaimed titles including Na h-Eilthirich (The Emigrants), Ran Dan and the multiple award-winning Gruth is Uachdar (Crowdie and Cream). He subsequently moved into producing and directing primetime TV drama including Holby City and River City, as well as working on landmark factual productions such as A History of Scotland.

His Sherlock special won the Emmy for Best Single Television Movie. Good Omens Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmy Awards. Another 7 wins & 15 nominations. Douglas Mackinnon is a hugely experienced television drama Director with a proven track record of delivering engaging, original and distinctive shows to global audiences. Shows he has directed have won and been nominated for Emmy's, BAFTA's and many other awards, including winning Best Director in the BAFTA Scotland awards. He show-ran S1 & 2 of Good Omens and Anansi Boys for Amazon. He has also directed tens of hours of television, including Line of Duty (S1 & 2), Doctor Who, Outlander, Dirk Gently, Silent Witness, etc.

Rich Peppiatt is a writer & director working across film, TV and commercials. His debut narrative feature, Kneecap, had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. It was the first ever Irish language movie to play at the festival, going on to win the NEXT Audience Award. The film came home to Ireland at the Galway Fleadh, taking home a historic haul of honours in Best Irish Film, Best Irish Language Film and the Audience Award. Rich and the film went on to win 4 IFTA's. He made BAFTA History as the most nominated Debut Director Ever and took home the BAFTA for Outstanding British Debut. Kneecap is on release worldwide and was selected as Ireland's entry for the 2025 Academy Awards. Rich's debut feature documentary, One Rogue Reporter, was nominated for Best Independent Feature at the 2014 National Film Awards and released worldwide by Netflix. He went on to write over 25 hours of prime time television, which have won awards including a Scottish RTS & BAFTA. In 2018 he released two short films, Backseat Driver & Grounded. They screened at dozens of international festivals, with Grounded long-listed for the 2020 Academy Awards. Rich has recently co-founded Coup D'Etat Films, based in Belfast, with Kneecap producer Trevor Birney.

Sophia Smith Galer is an award-winning journalist, writer, speaker, and content creator, credited for pioneering astute, engaging journalism on TikTok. In 2024, Sophia was named the winner of the Georgina Henry Award at the Women In Journalism 2024 awards for Digital Innovation, becoming an honorary Women in Journalism fellow. As well as a space on the International Center for Journalists’ Disarming Disinformation Solutions Challenge - to develop Sophina, her AI tool that helps experts and journalists write video scripts & amplify their work online. Sophia was also recognised in British Vogue as one of 25 most influential women in the UK and included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2022. She was awarded a British Journalism award for 'Innovation of the Year' in 2021 for her drive and push for representation in newsrooms for younger audiences and the stories and platforms that matter to them.

Andy Varley is the Founder and CEO of Insanity, a B Corp Certified, dynamic global entertainment company redefining how talent connects with the world. Insanity represent an elite roster of game-changers across entertainment, creators, music, podcasting and brand partnerships. As well as being the largest independently owned talent agency in the UK, Insanity run an independent record label which has been responsible for breaking household name recording artists, and a production studio which has developed and launched successful audio and visual programmes. With almost three decades of experience, Andy has been honoured with multiple accolades, including Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2019 Artist & Manager Awards, Management Agency of the Year at the 2023 bCreator Awards, Employer of the Year (Gold) at the 2023 SME Awards, Talent Agency of the Year (Bronze) at the 2024 Global Influencer Marketing Awards, and Insanity was listed in The Sunday Times Best Places To Work 2025. As a mentor and advocate, Andy is committed to shaping the future of creative leadership and championing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Holly Bott is the CEO and Founder of Little Arrow. Little Arrow is a creative business development and management company, building talent identity into ideas, on and off screen. It is a home for brilliant creatives where ideas can grow and turn into projects that respect and satisfy their audiences - wherever they may be found. The clients include Claudia Winkleman, Gabby Logan, Emma Barnett, Katy Hessel, Dame Anya Hindmarch and East London Café, E. Pellicci. Holly is one of the UK's leading female entertainment executives. Prior to Little Arrow, Holly was Global Managing Director of YMU Entertainment leading the team to develop, guide and execute the careers of world-class talent, including Claudia Winkleman, Davina McCall, Amelia Dimoldenberg, Rylan Clark, Gabby Logan, Munya Chawawa, Tom Daley - and more. In April 2022, Holly oversaw the expansion of YMU Entertainment into the US. She oversaw all specialisms including digital, commercial, live and all forms of broadcast. After graduating with a Fine Art Degree at Goldsmith's College, University of London, Holly's interest within the creative arts led her to senior level strategy and campaign when, in 2009, she joined Sony Music/SYCO. As a Senior Planner, she was charged with overseeing and spearheading global strategy for artists such as One Direction, Little Mix and Labrinth. She was listed as Music Week's '30 Under 30'. Holly then moved to Group Head of Strategy at the management agency James Grant Group. This would later re-brand to become part of the YMU Group of companies.

Nick is an agent at Curtis Brown representing writers and directors for theatre, film and TV. He also handles rights in published material for stage and screen. In 2007 he founded Cuba Pictures, whose credits include BOY A (2007), McMAFIA (2018) and THE WALSH SISTERS, which is due for transmission later this year. Nick is also a member of BAFTA and the European Film Academy.

I worked in theatre for a few years before going to work for the agency ICM London for many years , where I became an agent for dramatists and directors working in film, television , theatre and radio. Since 2017 I have worked as one of the managing partners at the management production company 42 and where I also continue to represent writers and directors.

Kenton Allen is the CEO of Big Talk Studios – one of the UK’s leading film and television production companies, and a multi-award-winning producer including BAFTAs for Rev, The Royle Family and Him & Her. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to television, Kenton was awarded the Fellowship award by the Royal Television Society in 2019. Kenton’s other notable credits include Martin McDonagh’s Oscar-winning film Six Shooter, as well as a host of critically acclaimed television series including Friday Night Dinner, The Outlaws, and Ludwig. Kenton has led the dynamic growth of Big Talk over the past fifteen years, including BBCW’s investment in Big Talk in 2008, which culminated in the sale of the company to ITV Studios in 2013. He has continued to lead Big Talk’s strategic growth in North America via changed format, international co-production and US originals. Big Talk was named as one of Broadcast’s Best Places to Work in 2017, 2018 and 2022. Kenton is married with two children, two dogs and four iPads.

Nick Mohammed is a double Emmy-nominated actor, comedian, and writer. He can most recently be seen in Amazon Prime feature DEEP COVER opposite Bryce Dallas Howard and Orlando Bloom. He also recently filmed the major feature CONTROL for Studio Canal. Nick played a regular role in Apple's hit Emmy award-winning TED LASSO and recently starred as regular character Billy Blind in RENEGADE NELL for Disney+. He also created, wrote, executive produced and co-starred, alongside David Schwimmer, in Sky One's hit show INTELLIGENCE. Nick has also received critical acclaim for his live character comedy work. His iconic persona Mr. Swallow took to the West End in 2024 with the hit show A CHRISTMAS CAROL (ISH) and can currently be seen in SHOW PONY - his biggest tour to date - which opened in May to glowing reviews. Other credits include John Slattery's MAGGIE MOORE (S) opposite Jon Hamm, Ridley Scott's THE MARTIAN, BRIDGET JONES' BABY and THE AB FAB MOVIE. He voiced Piglet in Disney's live action CHRISTOPHER ROBIN and has featured in a host of TV comedies including Channel 4's MORNING HAS BROKEN opposite Julia Davis, HBO and Sky's SALLY4EVER , Sky's CAMPING, Channel 4's STATH LETS FLATS and the BBC's THIS TIME WITH ALAN PARTRIDGE and INSIDE NO.9.

Matthew Belloni is Founding Partner of Puck, a digital media company covering the power centers of America. He helped launch Puck in 2021, writes the "What I'm Hearing" newsletter about the entertainment industry, and hosts "The Town," a podcast about the inner workings of Hollywood, for The Ringer Podcast Network. As editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter from 2016 to 2020, Belloni oversaw the weekly print magazine, THR.com, video, podcasts, and live events. During this time, THR won a National Magazine Award for General Excellence. Belloni spearheaded THR's Emmy-nominated roundtable series, "Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter," and "Angelyne," a scripted adaptation of a THR article. Belloni also appears regularly as an analyst on TV and radio, and was featured in the AppleTV+ series "The Studio." Belloni was an attorney at an entertainment law firm in Los Angeles. He holds a bachelor's degree from University of California, Berkeley, and a law degree from the USC School of Law, where he was on the USC Law Review.

Author, screenwriter and presenter Charlie Brooker created the critically-acclaimed anthology series Black Mirror, with the seventh season of the nine-time Emmy-winning show most recently launching on Netflix. Brooker is also the creator of BBC/Netflix comedy series Cunk on Earth and C4 zombie horror Dead Set. He is the co-creator of Nathan Barley and the unfairly-overlooked (his words) A Touch of Cloth. As a writer-presenter, he dismayed viewers for years with his series of Wipe shows for the BBC. In a previous life, he worked as a TV critic, videogames reviewer and cartoonist, although not all at the same time.