RTS masterclasses offer insights into the inner workings of the television industry, from journalism to drama.
The masterclasses will take place on Thursday 7 November at Kings Place, London.
Programme
10.15 Registration and arrival tea/coffee
11.00 Session One: Development
Speakers
- Dorsa Nam, Development Executive, MultiStory TV
- Dan Omnes, Development Executive, Blast Films
Chair
- Emma Read, Managing Director, Emporium Productions
12.00 Break
12.15 Session Two: Journalism
Speaker
- Ria Chatterjee, Reporter, Channel 4 News
Chair
-
Ben de Pear, Executive Producer, Basement Films
13.15 Lunch
14.00 Session Three: Factual
Speaker
- Camilla Lewis, CEO, Curve Media
Chair
- Tim Hincks, Co-CEO, Expectation
15.00 Break
15.15 Session Four: Drama
Speaker
- Jordan Hogg, Director, Ralph & Katie, Screw, Ackley Bridge
Chair
- Diederick Santer, Content Creative
16.15 Drinks Reception
17.15 Event Ends
Speakers
Ria Chatterjee
Ria is a correspondent at Channel 4 News. She seeks to put a rich cross-section of humanity at the heart of her reporting, with a strong and relentless focus on the communities that are vastly underrepresented in the media.
Authenticity and empathy play an important role in Ria's approach to journalism. She believes that impactful journalism thrives on connections with people on the frontline of life. Her pursuit of agenda-setting stories is led and informed by compassion for those exposed to inequalities, as well as a relentless push to hold powerful people and systems to account.
She has reported extensively on UK social affairs, including police corruption, poverty, youth violence, inequalities within the education system, the coronavirus pandemic, the impact of Brexit and much more. She has also reported from the USA and India on social and political issues impacting each country.
For her reporting, Ria has received a British Journalism Award, Asian Media Award and Criminal Justice Alliance Award, as well as being shortlisted for the prestigious Orwell Prize for Exposing Social Evils.
Tim Hincks
In 2017 Tim Hincks founded Expectation with Co-CEO Peter Fincham. Expectation is now one of the most successful independent companies in the UK. The multi-RTS and BAFTA award winning company is responsible for a wide range of shows across a number of genres. Output includes Clarkson’s Farm for Amazon Prime, The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan for Channel 4, ITV Saturday night gameshow In With A Shout, Alma’s Not Normal for BBC Two , The Chelsea Detective for Acorn/ZDF, Guilt for BBC Two, Intelligence starring David Schwimmer for Sky One, Murder 24/7 (BBC Two), Miriam: Death of a Reality Star (Channel 4), Essex Range Rover Murders (Sky Docs)… and coming soon, drama thriller Malice, starring Jack Whitehall for Amazon Prime US.
Before Expectation Tim spent twenty years at Endemol eventually becoming Global President of Endemol Group (and later Endemol Shine) where he oversaw creativity and strategy across forty countries and over eighty companies. He was responsible for unscripted shows including Big Brother, Deal or No Deal , 8 Out of 10 Cats and Would I Lie To You? And in scripted his tenure saw the launch of Black Mirror, Humans and Peaky Blinders.
Tim was Executive Chair of the Edinburgh TV Festival between 2008 and 2013 and was on the boards of the National Theatre and The Royal Court. He went to The Weald comprehensive school and is proud to be an advisor to the 93% Club and a regular contributor to Speakers For Schools. He also hosts a podcast about David Bowie with David Baddiel which absolutely no-one listens to.
Jordan Hogg
Jordan is a BAFTA & RTS winning drama director from Yorkshire with a disability (cerebral palsy); he has over 70 hours of broadcast TV credits and first trained through the Channel 4's 4Talent scheme and won BAFTA Breakthrough 2020. Jordan directed BBC One's ground-breaking drama, multi RTS winning, Ralph & Katie – the first drama to feature two learning disabled lead actors, a project seen as pioneering for inclusive TV. He previously directed Channel 4 prison-drama series Screw & both the third and fourth seasons of Ackley Bridge for The Forge Entertainment, as well as episodes for BBC One prime-time drama Death in Paradise & All Creatures Great & Small.
Jordan has also directed episodes for flagship BBC One medical-drama-series Casualty & won a BAFTA in 2018. In 2020 Jordan won BAFTA Breakthrough for his work on Ackley Bridge as well RTS Best Inclusive Practice and Special Award for Outstanding Contribution for his work on Ralph & Katie.
Camilla Lewis
Emmy and BAFTA award-winning Producer Camilla Lewis co-founded Curve Media in 2014. Curve has risen to be one of the top UK independent unscripted producers with a reputation for impeccable delivery of returnable, quality factual programming for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Discovery Networks, Disney+, Paramount+ and Netflix. Since 2022 Curve have been working alongside Night Train Media, the Munich-based Media Group.
Camilla has created and overseen some of the best-known brands on British television including Escape to the Country, Grand Designs and BAFTA/RTS award-winning Four Rooms and Great British Railway Journeys. Prior to founding Curve, Lewis was UK Managing Director at Cineflix, Head of Factual Features at talkbackTHAMES (Fremantle), Head of Factual at CBBC, and Deputy Editor of Tomorrow’s World.
Dorsa Nam
Dorsa is a freelance Development Executive specialising in unscripted formats. Starting her 10-year career as a development trainee at 12 Yard Productions, Dorsa has since held development roles at TwoFour, Expectation, STV Studios, and RDF Television. She currently works at MultiStory Media, part of ITV Studios. Recognised as a Broadcast Hot Shot in 2022, she was praised as a ‘creative powerhouse’ by former boss, Josephine Brassey.
She co-developed BBC One’s daytime quiz show Bridge of Lies and its spin-off, Celebrity Bridge of Lies, now in its third series. Dorsa also contributed to Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, and was instrumental in launching Big Zuu’s cooking show, Big Zuu’s Big Eats, on Dave.
Dan Omnes
Dan Omnes, Development Executive at Blast Films and a 2023 Broadcast Hotshot, is a dynamic force in factual television. With his journalistic instinct, entrepreneurial drive and storytelling flair, Dan delivers innovative, business-winning projects to streaming services and all the major global TV channels alike.
Known for his creative approach, Dan excels throughout development, from initial concept to final pitch. His talent for securing access and crafting engaging narratives has led to notable commissions, including Netflix's The Man With a Thousand Kids and BBC’s Big Gay Wedding with Tom Allen.
In today’s rapidly changing TV landscape, Dan remains dedicated to creating impactful documentaries that achieve both commercial success and critical acclaim.
Emma Read
Award-winning executive producer, Emma Read, founded successful production company Emporium Productions in 2015, where she has produced hundreds of hours of primetime factual programming in UK, USA and for global streamers. From Netflix’s global top 10 hit, Inside The World’s Toughest Prisons to Rich House Poor House for Channel 5, Operation Hope for Amazon and First Ladies of Hip Hop for BBC.
Throughout her long career as a filmmaker, Emma Read has produced thousands of hours of factual programmes for many channels including BBC, Netflix, A&E, Discovery, Smithsonian, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, SKY and CBS and successfully commissioned for SKY, Discovery and Animal Planet.
Diederick Santer
Diederick has worked for more than 25 years in British TV as a producer, a commissioner, and as a production company leader.
Most recently, he worked as a Content Creative at Netflix, working on titles including Baby Reindeer, Fool Me Once and Scoop.
He began his TV career in 1996 as a script reader, and then a script editor on ITV dramas.
He joined BBC in 2000, where he developed and produced a number of series including Cutting It and the Emmy-nominated Jane Eyre.
In 2006 he became Executive Producer of EastEnders and over the next four years (and 700 plus episodes) delivered a consistent period of ratings and awards success. He stepped down in 2010 following the show's 25th anniversary live episode.
He then set up his own production company, Lovely Day, a label within scripted company Kudos, which went on to produce the hugely popular crime series Grantchester (still in production and watched all around the world ten years later).
In 2015 Diederick became Chief Executive of Kudos. Under his leadership, Kudos thrived with a string of hits including the International Emmy Awards-winning Man in an Orange Shirt, Channel 4 and AMC returner Humans, International Emmy-nominated Apple Tree Yard, Gunpowder for BBC One, Flowers for Channel 4, BBC Two’s The Boy With The Topknot, and the Sky Atlantic hit, Tin Star.
In 2017 he had the honour of chairing the Edinburgh International Television Festival.
He left Kudos in 2019, and moved into scripted commissioning, first working with the commissioning team at BBC Drama, helping to oversee a number of their 2021 titles (including Time, The Pursuit of Love and Ridley Road). He then spent two years as Chief Creative Officer, BritBox International, where he was responsible for overseeing commissioning and acquisition for the rapidly growing global streamer, commissioning numerous co pro’d titles including Beyond Paradise and Archie.
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Visit our Masterclasses page to watch sessions from previous years. For more information and group bookings of more than 10 students, please contact Lindsey Cran.