Twelve senior management individuals from across the Nations and Regions are set to take part in a six-month training
programme with TRC.
International Horizons is a professional development programme that gives senior executives the knowledge, skills and
expertise needed to get a competitive edge on the global stage.
Delegates from factual and scripted will benefit from expert training including sessions on: financing,
co-productions, market analysis, the art of negotiation and the culture of pitching to new markets. The delegates
will also benefit from unrivalled access to industry experts, learning from those with first-hand experience and
success working in the global marketplace with a focus on North America and Asia.
The programme launched in April and is funded by Screen Scotland, BBC Nations and Regions and Channel 4.
The delegates are:
Lucy Bacon, Director of Unscripted Development, Two Rivers Media
Two Rivers Media is a fast-growing multi-genre independent production company, founded by MD Alan
Clements and headquartered in Glasgow. Two Rivers aims to create compelling content in factual,
factual entertainment, entertainment and scripted to serve the Scottish, UK and international
markets.
As Director of Unscripted Development, Lucy Bacon leads the growing development team at
Two Rivers. Prior to this role she was Head of Development at Wall to Wall Media, BBC Studios,
Remarkable Television and Shine TV. She has a legacy of pitching, originating and developing
programming which has enjoyed domestic and international success.
Pete Brandon, Joint Managing Director, Button Down Ltd
I’m Joint Managing Director of Button Down, the York-based indie. It’s an exciting time for us – we
were recently named winners of Channel 4’s Emerging Indie Award for documentaries and we’re about to
start production on our first network series – a 6-part ob-doc for BBC Three. I’m passionate about
giving a voice to people we seldom see on TV and humor and heart is always at the forefront of our
ideas. Away from work you’ll find me watching or playing cricket, listening to Northern Soul or
walking in the Yorkshire countryside.
Deanne Cunningham, Head of Development/Executive Producer, Synchronicity Films
Deanne Cunningham is currently Head of Development at Synchronicity Films, an award-winning Scottish
indie. She is responsible for their slate of high-end scripted projects for Film and TV. With 13
years of experience in the industry, her latest producing credits include ITV hit dramas Endeavour
and Cold Feet. She has script edited several award-winning shows, including Humans (Ch4/AMC), Utopia
(Ch4) and The Tunnel (Sky Atlantic/Canal+) and has worked extensively in script development. She has
also produced several independent films with backing from Creative Scotland and the BFI. She is a
former BBC Production Trainee and lives in Glasgow.
Linsay Gordon, Head of Development, Raise the Roof Productions
Linsay has over 20 years of experience creating series and singles in popular factual, daytime and
documentary. As Head of Development at Raise the Roof, Linsay runs every aspect of the team from
hiring and nurturing Development Execs, Producers, APs and Researchers, to pitching to Commissioners
and Controllers at most of the major UK broadcasters. Recent commissions include Love It or List It:
Brilliant Builds (Channel 4), Kate Humble: Escape to the Farm (Channel 5), My Mortgage Free Home
(Discovery), Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas (Channel 4) and the BAFTA Scotland winning series, A
Country Life for Half the Price (Channel 5).
Lizzie Gray, Head of Television, Blazing Griffin Pictures Ltd
Lizzie Gray joined Blazing Griffin in 2018 as Head of Television with a remit to build a brand new
department focused on commercially focused high-end drama. Prior to that, Lizzie was Executive
Producer at SKY on award winning series Patrick Melrose and Save Me, as well as You, Me & the
Apocalypse, Fortitude and Venus Versus Mars. Lizzie’s background is in long running, popular drama
series having produced both Waterloo Road and River City.
Ross Harper, Joint Managing Director, Red Sky Productions
Ross Harper is Joint Managing Director of Red Sky Productions. He co-founded Red Sky in late 2016 and
is the executive producer of many of its productions alongside business partner Jane Rogerson. As
joint MD, Ross is involved in all aspects of the business from operational matters to ideas
development and project execution & delivery.
Red Sky makes uplifting popular factual content
for UK broadcasters, from documentaries to formats. In just over four years the company has won over
20 commissions and received 5 award nominations – including Best Small Indie of the Year 2020 – and
two awards.
David Marshall, Head of Entertainment, Tern Television
David Marshall is Head of Entertainment for Tern Television, based in Scotland and Northern Ireland
and part of Zinc Media Group. The multi-award-winning company produce documentaries, history,
science, arts, adventure and popular lifestyle formats.
BAFTA-nominated Marshall’s diverse
background spans entertainment, factual and factual entertainment formats as well as reality
programming. He joined Tern from Glasgow’s Beezr Studios where he held the role of Head of Factual
Entertainment and Formats, running both production and development teams and helping grow the
company’s slate of returnable formats. Prior to this David was Series Producer of the popular BBC
One quiz show Impossible and launched Tern’s studio-based dating format Love Song. 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,
Britain’s Got Talent and Big Brother.
Kieran McCarthy, Director of Development, True North
Kieran McCarthy is the newly-installed Director of Development at True North, responsible for driving
development across the company’s broad unscripted slate. Kieran has worked in senior roles in
development and in production at indies including Gobstopper, Flying Saucer TV, Double Act and
Outline Productions. Kieran has developed a range of unscripted formats for multiple broadcasters;
including Lose Weight Like Me for Channel 4, Plastic Surgery Undressed for BBC3 , Filthy House SOS
for Channel 5, and Just Tattoo of Us for MTV.
Denis Minihan, Senior Development Producer/Series Producer, Alleycats TV
I’m a Northern Ireland based senior Development Producer working for Alleycats TV. Alleycats has
tripled its turnover in the last 2 years, moving from being a primarily NI focused indie to one
supplying significant hours to the network and international markets, including all 4 BBC channels,
Channel 4, All4, Discovery Networks, Love Nature, PBS, Arte and with content being further
distributed globally by eOne and Storylab. International production and co-production is key to
Alleycats business plan and we want to increase the number of our potential partners.
Jackie Savery, Company Director, Maramedia
Jackie is a qualified conservation biologist with extensive experience in producing and developing
factual and childrens’ production. She has worked across 100 hours of successful broadcast TV and In
2010 co-founded the independent production company Maramedia – based in Scotland UK. Maramedia
produces blue chip award winning international wildlife and factual content such as the recent
Stormborn trilogy – narrated by Ewan McGregor. As exec producer on Maramedia productions Jackie is
closely involved in each production as well as shaping future development for the company.
Kate Vines, Head of Factual Development, ieie productions
Kate is Head of Factual Development for ieie productions. She’s spent the last twenty years working
across development and production, securing over 100 hours of documentary, arts and specialist
factual commissions to date. Highlights include landmark BBC series’ ‘Wonders of Life’, ‘Origins of
Us’ and ‘Stargazing Live’; BBC documentary series ‘Child of Our Time’ and living history series
‘Electric Dreams; C4 series ‘Kids on the Edge’ and ‘Bouncers’, as well as feature doc ‘The Making of
A Serial Killer’ for Film4/BFI. She’s passionate about storytelling and keen to develop ideas that
push boundaries and challenge viewers’ perceptions of the world.
Jenny Williams, Company Manager/Producer, Pirate Productions
Jenny is Producer and Company Manager at Pirate Productions. The company is based in Edinburgh and
develops original drama and comedy for TV and film. Pirate is currently developing international
drama, RECIPES FOR LOVE & MURDER, with Both Worlds, Cape Town. RECIPES is a ten-part murder
mystery series set in rural South Africa. Filming is due to take place later in 2021. Pirate
recently made comedy pilot GROUP and past projects include PET PROBLEMS, RUBENESQUE, BOOK GROUP and
FESTIVAL. Pirate is committed to new talent and is working with several emerging writers to develop
projects for the international market.