Southern

Centre Officers:

Chair: Gordon Cooper

Gordon is a freelance media education consultant. Most recently he has organised a creative industry mentoring scheme for Creative Skillset aimed at Higher Education courses. He has worked in the Media School at Bournemouth University helping establish the School's international media professional development courses and teaching on a range of practice-based undergraduate and post-graduate courses. He is a former BBC staff producer with an established track record in writing and producing educational and factual programmes for broadcast TV and radio. He has also run his own independent production company and produced freelance features and documentary series for Radio 4.

Treasurer: Bob Sparks

Bob has been in the forefront of managing emerging technologies and technology change for over 20 years through various technology and senior management roles with ITN, Meridian Broadcasting, OnDigital, Amethyst Consulting, BBC Broadcast and Arqiva. Most recently Bob was Director of Technical Sales Support at Arqiva where he led a team of Technical Consultants responsible for the design of customer facing solutions and products for major broadcasters across Digital Terrestrial Television, Digital Satellite and Radio platforms before moving back to ITV in an interim role in 2014 to drive operational service improvements as well as technology projects to support the HD channel strategy and future opportunities to improve revenue. Bob is currently Managing Partner for BDNZ Consulting Ltd working with media and broadcast clients to support their business needs. He is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chartered Manager of the Chartered Management Institute and Treasurer of the Royal Television Society Southern Centre.

Committee Members:

Jan Beal

Jan Beal has 16 years experience of making programes across every genre within ITV, followed by 24 years of Programme and Broadcast Management. This has included; facilities and people scheduling, budget creation, monitoring and managing, planning, co-ordination and organisation from concept to transmission plus location, studio and post production expertise. Jan has also worked in the Independent Sector, working on contract and delivery/financial negotiations.

Jan's recent achievements include setting up kmb productions, and working with ITV Meridian on Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity – which involved the preparation of a top level plan for Meridian’s Head of Technical Operations. She has also undertaken work with Southampton Solent University as a project consultant on the creation of The Centre for Professional Development in Broadcasting and Multimedia Production.
In 2007 Jan undertook a special project for Skillset and was a Lead Assessor of one of two teams who visited Universities across the UK who had applied for Skillset Media Academy status.

Jan was formerly chair of the RTS Southern Centre, and received a special RTS award in 2010 for her outstanding contribution to the centre (see picture).

Kate Beal

Kate Beal is the Managing Director of Talent TV South and a director of the Talent Group PLC. Talent TV South produce innovative, entertaining programmes for UK and international broadcasters alongside distinctive films for the corporate and digital sector.

Kate has exec produced programmes such as 'Fred Dinenage: Murder Casebook' and 'Broadmoor' for CI Networ, Vicars' Wives for ITV1, By Royal Appoinment for ITV1, The Krays By Fred Dinenage for CI Network and the Flying Winemakers for UKTV. Before Kate formed Talent South she was an ITV Series Producer / Director / AP with her favourite credits including The Real London's Burning for Five, That's Esther for ITV1, Tested to Destruction for ITV1 and Faith and the City for ITV1. Now, Kate leads Talent South and a team of talented and very multi-skilled individuals. She is always on the hunt for new ideas, new talent and people who are passionate about telling stories.

Mark Bond

Mark is the programme coordinator for MA Cinematography for Film and Television, at Bournemouth University. He joined the Media School at BU in 2010 and teaches units across undergraduate and postgraduate, Film and Television programmes. He has recently introduced a series of industry focused Masterclasses, and has managed the successful accreditation of four PG courses by the British Kinematograph, Sound and Television Society (BKSTS). Mark has been a freelance Director of Photography and Lighting Cameraman for over twenty years. Genres include documentary, comedy, drama, music, promos, commercials and animation. He has worked for all the major UK broadcasters and filmed in over 30 countries, shot over 50 films for blue chip companies, and photographed 6 children’s books. He is currently researching for a practice led PhD in cinematography.

Robin Britton

Robin started in television in 1984 - and has worked in News, Sport and current affairs programming since then. He has launched three news operations, introduced digital production & workflow, overseen the launch of web and social media services and is an active member of ITV's diversity group. He is currently Head of News for ITV Meridian.

Katharine Duchesne

Jason Horton

Jason is the head of BBC South. He is a former TV news producer with over 10 years of broadcasting experience both in journalism and production. He was the first BBC TV reporter on the scene of the Potters Bar train crash in 2002, as well as producing regional TV news programme BBC Look East during the Soham murder investigation.

Before joining BBC South in 2009, Jason was Managing Editor of BBC Cambridge. He led the radio station to record audiences as well as overseeing the move of the region's TV, radio and online teams to a new multimedia headquarters.

Keith Lloyd

Keith has worked in the broadcasting industry for over forty years in transmission and studios. In studios he worked in engineering and sound operations. He became Head of Sound for an ITV company. He ended up as Head of Operations for a number of TV companies. He is currently doing consultancy work. He has been in the RTS since 1965 and has served on two centre committees. 

Jonathan Marland

Jonathan Marland has been a programme executive for ITV Meridian for the last eight years – overseeing the channel’s non-news output. He started as reporter in newspapers in Devon before moving onto local radio where he was News Editor for Invicta Radio in Kent, and then television, where he was news editor for TVS in the South East. He has worked for ITV Meridian in a number of roles – news reporter – current affairs producer – political producer – Editor Current Affairs and now Executive Producer. 

Alison Martin

Alison is an award winning journalist with a track record in delivering peak time popular factual and current affairs. She currently works as a Series Editor for ITV where she has run prime time rating winners such as Paul O'Grady - Love of Dogs, Homes From Hell and The Martin Lewis Money Show.
After starting her career as an ITN trainee, Alison moved into the regions as a politics reporter, then went behind the camera where she built her skills as a producer and director. She has a thorough experience of making live, as live and location based factual programming.
Alison was part of The One Show launch team where she commissioned the current affairs content. At P/D level she has directed some of the UK’s best-known talent and led teams on powerhouse shows like Watchdog, Rogue Traders, That’s Esther, Holidaymaker and Rough Guides.

Stuart Ray

Stuart is the Course Leader for three Skillset approved Television Production degrees at Southampton Solent University. He specialises in multi camera production and co-supervises all final year undergraduate major project productions. Stuart joined the University in January 2007. Previously he was Head of Training and Facilities at Youth Culture Television. This London based charity worked offered young people the opportunity to make their own television programmes, many of which were broadcast. The charity was supported by all the major broadcasters. He has worked on a huge range of productions in the corporate, training, sell through and broadcast sectors.

Chris Riley

Chris Riley is MD of Southampton-based Topical Television Ltd., which has produced over 1500 programmes on all the main networks - documentaries, factual entertainment, arts, science and current affairs. These include City Hospital BBC One’s long-running live hospital documentary, Real Rescues (BBC One) and feature strands for The One Show.

Chris’s own credits before starting Topical ranged from Editor of TV-am breakfast TV, to Producer of a variety of series including peak-time chat shows and events, the Booker Prize, Whodunit drama, Watchdog, current affairs and entertainment.

Natalie Wilkinson

Natalie started her career at various independent production companies, including Aardman Animations. She then joined ITV in 1997, before co-founding Athena Films in 2005. Natalie works as Creative Director and Series Producer/Director where she has made almost 100 high-quality, popular, innovative programmes for Network acquired by over 100 countries world-wide and winning 3 broadcast awards. Natalie has produced programmes in a wide range of genres, from Safari 3D (Sky and Discovery) to a series on Death Row. She specialises in wildlife, overseas and adventure filming and is currently producing the popular Channel 5 series Ben Fogle: New Lives in The Wild following people who ditch the rat-race to live in some of the remotest places on Earth.