ITV and MultiStory Media, part of ITV Studios, has today announced the return of the acclaimed Fresh Cuts strand. This year, marking an ITV first, the selected talent will produce/direct compelling short-form series which will air on ITVX and ITV’s digital channels as part of programming for Black History Month, and this year also for UK Disability History Month.
As well as the move from single hours to short-form series, Fresh Cuts 3.0 welcomed aspiring directors to apply with or without an idea of their own, to produce content for this year’s strand.
Making their directorial debut for ITV, the selected producer/directors for Black History Month 2024 are Moses Ssebandeke with his profile series Alter Egos, Sammy Ofori-Attah’s Black Magic with Trixy, and Destiny Williams’ light-hearted Dogs of Grime.
For Disability History Month 2024, programming includes Stephanie Symington’s makeover series Date My Nan, Richard Walker’s Disabled talent-led chat show Unfiltered Women and Molly Dennis’ cooking show Takeaway or Fakeaway.
Natalie Rose has been appointed as the Executive Producer, overseeing the strand for MultiStory Media, and Commissioning Editor Richard Botchway will oversee the series for Sue Murphy’s Fact Ent team.
Fresh Cuts is funded through ITV’s £80 million Diversity Commissioning Fund, which launched in 2022. Over the past two years, Fresh Cuts has provided opportunities to eight directors, earning a BAFTA nomination along the way. Among them is Jason Osborne, whose first network documentary commission for ITV was nominated in the Emerging Talent: Factual category.
Executive Producer for MultiStory Media, Natalie Rose said: “Fresh Cuts is all about championing underrepresented voices. Our content will be produced and directed by first-time talent from diverse backgrounds. Their perspective is central to producing this content and how it is executed. The move to short-form series and genre shift to more pop-y Fact Ent ideas is an exciting development for this year’s series. I can’t wait to see this very talented group of filmmakers put their take on these ideas, and get their first network directing credits along the way.”
In conjunction with Black History Month and Disability History Month, as part of ITV’s commitment to support and commission content from diverse-led businesses, Amplify: the Companies was launched. As part of this initiative, two companies have been selected to produce a short-form series: one from a Disabled-led company and another from a company led by People of Colour. These series will be released during the respective commemorative months.
Postcard Productions will produce Ash Holme – What Not To Do with Dad, following the presenter and content creator as she takes in different experiences with her Dad, and Gold Wala will produce Evil Escapes, following three disabled comedians, including “Lost Voice Guy” Lee Ridley, as they take a spooky road trip across the UK and attempt to prank and out-scare each while exploring Britain’s scariest and weirdest attractions.
Richard Botchway, Commissioning Editor at ITV, added: “Fresh Cuts has been a fantastic route to giving new talent their first network credits and I’m excited to be a part of this year’s series. The new short-form approach is intended to create engaging, more easily shareable content, with the potential to attract younger audiences and bring greater visibility to the series, wherever audiences choose to view their content. We’re also really excited to be working with Faraz at Gold Wala and Rich at Postcard Productions, in their first commissions from ITV.”
Gold Wala MD Faraz Osman said: “Championing diverse voices through entertaining, fresh formats is what we are all about. So we are thrilled to be working with the ITV team and some of the UK’s most exciting comedy talent to create a scarily funny new show that is sure to make you scream with laughter!”
Postcard MD Rich Bentley said: “We are excited to bring the fabulous Ash Holme and her ever-patient dad, Phil, together in this entertaining format that combines outrageous adventures with real heart. We do not see father-daughter combinations on screen and Ash and Phil’s unique and brilliant relationship offers a new way of exploring and challenging how we understand the modern world.”
Ade Rawcliffe, Group Director of Diversity and Inclusion at ITV, commented: “We’re proud to support new and emerging black and disabled talent as ITV champions authentic storytelling from fresh perspectives. With a notable gap in Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent talent at the Producer/Director level, expanding Fresh Cuts to mark Disability History Month allows us to support underrepresented talent in our industry.”
