The UTVU Committee is made up of programme makers, just like you.

We are all volunteers who donate our time to represent you and amplify your voice.

We are passionate about making TV a more diverse, mentally healthy and inclusive industry to ensure this is a sustainable career choice for everyone.

We work in Production Management, Editorial and Development roles.

We come together in specialist working groups to highlight the issues we all face, bringing multiple perspectives to the challenge of solving them.

Join us - the committee is open to everyone.

Elections happen once a year at the AGM, but if there’s something you feel passionate about, please get in touch anytime to join (or set up!) a working group.

**James Taylor**
*Chair*
JT is a freelance Series Editor, after starting out as a Runner and Researcher in live CBBC programmes before moving to Entertainment series like Any Dream Will Do, Strictly Come Dancing and The X Factor. More recently he’s been Series Editor on Fact Ents shows like Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars, Kitchen Nightmares, and Celebrity Best Home Cook.
He is passionate about freelancer rights and has campaigned on the issue since becoming a founding member and Co-Administrator of grassroots campaign group Viva La PD in 2017.
Within the union, James also sits on the Executive Committees of both Bectu and Prospect (parent union of Bectu).

**Dudley Cruse**
*Vice Chair and Branch Secretary*
Dudley is a Producer in Specialist Factual and Docs, having worked in TV for around 15 years.
He joined the UTVU and Bectu because he spent years complaining about what is wrong with working in TV and decided it's time to do something about it. He has been on the committee since the beginning, four years years ago, and is now into his third year as Secretary.

Liz Biggs
Vice Chair of Communications

Liz is a freelance Director and Executive / Series Producer working across Specialist Factual and Documentaries.

She was drawn to the world of science documentaries and began her career at the BBC before moving into the indie sector where she has worked on BAFTA-nominated series and directed films for the BBC, Channel 4, Discovery, National Geographic and Sky. She also works in immersive storytelling, collaborating on some of the top-grossing VR docs. She is currently at Century Films, looking after a slate of unscripted and scripted developments.

This is her second year on the committee after realising there was no point moaning about the TV industry without being the change. As VC of Comms, she hopes to continue the work that has made UTVU a central voice in the conversation around freelancer rights.

**Dean Webster**
*Diversity and Inclusion Officer*

Dean has been working in television for over ten years and is currently a Development Executive and PD specialising in youth focussed factual, factual entertainment and reality programming. He was listed as one of Broadcast Magazine’s Hot Shots for 2022 and has worked as a Producer/Director on BBC Three documentaries ‘Is Uni Racist?’ and ‘Music’s Dirty Secrets: Women Fight Back’ – both of which aired on BBC One - and factual entertainment series ‘Rent Like a Boss’. In Development, he’s worked at Barcroft Studios, Chalkboard TV and in-house at MTV International. He has worked in Development at Ten66 Television where he created the new BBC Three reality dating series ‘Love in The Flesh’.
A BECTU Unscripted TV Committee member since its inception, Dean is passionate about fair working conditions and diversity. He also sits on the Non Executive Board of Creative Access.

**Adam Quigley**
*Carers / Job Sharing Officer | Socials (North)*
Adam is an Edit Producer with experience in Factual and Reality television. Originally from Teesside and an alumni of ScreenSkills’ Producer Pathways in Unscripted TV 2022 cohort, a scheme aimed at talent from under-represented groups who have faced barriers in progressing their career, his early credits included roles on the BAFTA and RTS Award winning It Was Alright in the 1970s, Gold Rush and Puppy Days. Relocating to London, he would become a long-time team member of Animal Planet’s Dr Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet where he would go on to Edit Produce multiple episodes of the prime-time show.
Needing to take intermittent breaks away from the industry to care for vulnerable parents, Adam now resides in Yorkshire. Returning to TV, he joined the UTVU Committee to champion Job Sharing opportunities and its benefits as well as aiming to create a sense of community amongst the freelance workforce through its social events.

**Viki Carter**
*Production Management Officer | Socials (Brighton)*
Viki is an experienced Production Executive who was inspired to get involved in the Unscripted Branch by a desire to leave the industry in a better place than she found it, and fundamentally change how freelancers are treated.
Formerly a UTVU Branch Chair, She is passionate about representing production management and breaking down the barriers between production and editorial. She is also keen to increase training and awareness in the industry and supporting unscripted freelancers to navigate the TV and freelance world. To this end she helped put together the Freelancer Pack and is keen to update/add to it to ensure it’s a really useful resource for all in our industry.

**Helen Landeau**
*Rates Officer*
Helen is an experienced Line Producer in Factual and Specialist Factual.
She is the Committee Member as the Production Management Officer ensuring that Production Management have representation for Unscripted TV.

**Lucy Gastor**
*Branch Recruitment Officer*
Lucy is a Producer/Director and Edit Producer in Factual TV with 15 years in the industry.
She is committed to improving working conditions within Unscripted, particularly for those with hidden disabilities.

**Celine Fitzmaurice**
*Disability Officer*
Celine is a specialist factual SP with 15 years experience in the industry. Always a freelancer, she's very aware of how precarious the industry can be and how that leaves little space for being aware of disabled talent. Celine is keen to reframe the attitude to the workplace and create an inclusive space for all of the talented individuals in tv.

**Meriel Beale**
*Bullying & Harassment Officer*
Meriel is a freelance senior executive producer in unscripted TV who understands the pressures and stresses of freelance life and wants to transform the way we work behind the camera.
A campaigner for anti bullying and workplace inclusion, she came to Bectu wanting to raise awareness of the extent of bullying and harassment in the industry, and subsequently launched the #UnseenOnScreen campaign. Meriel regularly talks to peers in need of advice on bullying and harassment & speaks on industry panels.

**Anna Coane**
*Women’s Officer | London Production Division (LPD) Officer*
Anna is a London based freelance Series Producer and Writer with 20 year’s experience working in Comedy, Entertainment and Fact Ent TV, in editorial (but previously also in production).
She joined the committee because she is committed to ‘fair pay, fair hours, fair conditions’, and to making the TV industry safer and more accountable. She’s also keen to try and help improve the prospects, rights, mental health and working conditions of all UK TV freelancers and is particularly passionate about improving how women and parents/carers experience the industry.

**Rosanna Armenante**
*Young Members Officer | Socials (Midlands)*
Rosanna is an experienced Assistant Producer and Translator based in the Midlands, working in factual TV on productions filming all over the world. Most recently she produced the powerful ‘The Pelicot Rape Case: A Town on Trial’ for Five, which leant on her experience in sensitive access.
She is very passionate about improving conditions in the industry and promoting healthy work environments, and has been involved with Bectu for several years.
She joined the UTVU committee this year and is particularly keen to advocate for deaf, disabled and neurodivergent workers, women in the industry, and people in junior roles.

**Jude Winstanley**
*Learning Officer*
Jude Winstanley is a freelance,Skills Project Manager at Ascend Global Crew Training within Amazon MGM Studios. Jude helps productions find trainee and stepping up support around the world.
Prior to this, Jude was a freelance TV Line Producer and the founder of theunitlist.com the first ever, free, TV jobs board and now a screen industry, careers resources page.
Jude has hired hundreds of people on productions and helped thousands more get their foot in the door of the UK screen industries via delivery of screen industry training programmes, events and resources for a variety of stakeholders that include; ScreenSkills, BFI Film Academy and the Royal Television Society. She has been invited to contribute to significant industry developments by the Coalition for Change, the Film & TV Charity, BAFTA and PACT.

**Nick Frend**
Nick is an award-winning freelance Series Producer/Director and Edit Producer with over 20 years of experience in broadcast television. Originally from Birmingham and now based in London, he has worked and filmed around the world. Nick began his career in educational programming in the Midlands, worked as a journalist in Africa, and eventually moved into factual and factual entertainment.
Over the years, Nick has worked with major UK broadcasters, including the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, and Channel 5, as well as prominent American networks such as Netflix, Discovery, and National Geographic.
Passionate about creating a better working environment, Nick serves as a committee member dedicated to making the industry more accessible, inclusive, and safe for unscripted freelancers.

**Jonathan Schütz**
Founder of Curly Lizard Films, Jonathan has worked in documentary and factual television for over 25 years. A highly experienced Executive Producer and Series Producer, his trademark is international production, with a special focus on Southeast and East Asia, and previously across Central & Eastern Europe. He has recently set up Gecko at Curly Lizard, which makes broadcast-quality videos for arts, culture and heritage organisations, charities and non-profits.
He joined the committee to see if he can help counter the insecurity we all feel. As someone who embraces new technologies and new content outlets, he would like to focus on resilience and adaptability; alongside that, he would like to bolster support for male mental health issues and for older workers who are often marginalised.

**Nicky Hammond**
*Welfare Officer*
Nicky is a well-respected Series Editor with over 20 years' experience. She's worked across multiple genres and for broadcasters/indies both big and small. Nicky is keen to drive sustainable change and increase diversity across the workforce by improving recruitment practices, standardising training, and using industry-wide feedback effectively.
As a regular hirer, mentor and advocate, she argues that diversity and inclusivity aren’t add-ons—they’re essential. Nicky believes that TV has a brilliant, creative and adaptable workforce, but that working standards and practices need to support freelancers as well as staff members. Too many freelancers feel unable to call out bad working practices and this is something Nicky would like to see changed.

Erin Bottari
Rates Officer

Erin is a senior member of production who has worked on multiple award-winning documentary films, including BAFTA-nominated The Crossing, and Russell Brand: In Plain Sight, the most streamed programme ever on Channel 4.

Erin's focus is making programming around social, political and humanitarian issues. She is interested in the combination of compassionate storytelling with high-end production values - and about diversity and accessibility both on and off screen. A freelancer for 12 years who is responsible for hiring and contracting crew, she understands the employment process from all sides. She also has lived experience of working in the industry with a disability. Erin is particularly committed to supporting junior workers in the awareness of their labour rights.