Mastering unscripted TV development: the interviews

Hear from the unscripted TV industry’s unscripted development experts, from both production and commissioning points of view, in this series of free online masterclasses interviews. 

How were their careers forged and what were their greatest successes and failures along the way? How are they adapting to the current market? What strategies do they feel work in development? What do they wish they had been told when they started out? What sort of idea still excites them? Dishing all the dirt on careers at the frontline of format creation, with plenty of opportunity to ask questions.

Who it's for

This course is aimed unscripted TV developers of all levels and can be booked as a complementary element to our other courses – 'Mastering unscripted TV development: team enrichment' and 'Mastering unscripted TV development: how to devise, develop & sell an entertainment TV format'.  Or you can simply book to attend an interview on its own. 

What it covers

This course takes place online via Zoom and will run on the following dates and times:

• 1pm – 2pm Friday 26th April 2024 - Tim Hincks, CEO Expectation
• 1pm – 2pm Friday 24th May 2024 - Karen Smith, CEO Tuesday’s Child
• 1pm – 2pm Friday 21st June 2024 - Syeda Irtizaali, Editor of Unscripted, BBC.
• 1pm – 2pm Thursday 4th July 2024 - Tom Beck, Commissioning Editor Entertainment, C4 and Joe Mace, Commissioning Editor Entertainment ITV
• 5pm Tuesday 24th September 2024 - Tim Harcourt, Creative Director and Niall O’Driscoll, Senior VP Development and Current, Jack Burgess, EVP Development and Current, Studio Lambert

Course Tutors:

The interviews will be hosted by Anna Blue and Will Spokes, Entertainment Execs who each have over 25 years’ experience in TV development and production. Often working together, and sometimes apart, they have co-developed and sold numerous formats including The Mash Report (BBC2), The Magicians (BBC1), You’re Back in The Room (ITV), Got To Dance (Sky), The Big Jubilee Street Party (ITV), Push The Button (ITV), Life Stripped Bare (C4), Taxi of Mum and Dad (C4), The Beat Goes On (C5), and OAP Internet Virgins (Sky). Anna Is currently Director of Entertainment at Gold Dust Films and Will is an Executive Producer at Tuesday’s Child and runs his own development consultancy. 

How to apply

This session will take place online via Zoom. Click ‘apply for ticket’ and follow the instructions to apply for your place: you must login or register before you are able to complete your application.

If you are no longer able to attend, we ask you to please use the 'decline ticket' function on the right hand side of the page so that we can release your place. Our sessions are often oversubscribed, so we’d like to give other freelancers the opportunity to fill available spots. Thank you for your consideration.

This session is supported by the ScreenSkills Unscripted TV Skills Fund which invests in training for the unscripted workforce thanks to contributions from broadcasters, SVoDs and production companies.

This course would normally cost participants to attend but, thanks to this support, we are able to offer it to you for free. If you fail to attend, we reserve the right to request reimbursement of costs, unless your place can be taken by someone else.