As part of the acclaimed Fresh Cuts Strand for Disability History Month 2024, Molly Dennis makes their directorial debut for ITV, with her profile series Takeaway or Fakeaway.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Molly and I’m a freelancer in unscripted TV and film. A lot of my work has been with sensitive access contributors and talent for documentaries, including work with victims of abuse, medical trauma patients, the police and mental health. I am currently completing a Diploma in Unscripted Development at the NFTS funded by Amazon Prime and I’m a member of BAFTA Connect.
Outside of work, I like to make my own short documentaries. One I made whilst on a working holiday in Canada followed a holistic conservation initiative in a UNESCO Biosphere. This short screened at environmental film festivals all over the world including Hawaii, New York, British Columbia, Ontario, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary and Portugal – it is now with an educational distributor. I’m also working on my next short documentary, following vets in Athens who volunteer their time and resources neutering strays.
Did you always want to work in TV? How did you land your first role?
What I did always know is that I didn’t want a conventional career. I didn’t know anything about or anyone in the industry growing up – I thought it was all magic! When I started out, it was with unpaid work experience after university, until I slowly worked my way up as a freelancer, where I’m still going from project to project. I also spent a bit of time in the camera department for scripted programs and production work for animation – so it has definitely been a varied career already!
Why did you apply for Fresh Cuts this year?
I’d seen the previous series and thought it was such an important scheme. When I saw that it was expanding to disabled talent, I thought it was worth a try! I didn’t expect to get it and was over the moon to be offered the opportunity. It’s brilliant to be working alongside other amazing colleagues in the industry.
What is your series about?
My mini series is a different take on a food competition. Our chef is competing against takeaways and the judges are kids! They don’t hold back when it comes to tasting food, but are also thoughtful when it comes to critiquing.
What has been your biggest challenge producing this series?
The edit, I think. When you’ve got a set time you need to cut to, but so many lovely moments with the contributors, it’s difficult to fit that all in whilst still telling an engaging story.
What was your favourite part about making it?
Working with the contributors was really good fun! Our judges were up for trying all of the food and were brave in having dishes they had never heard of. They were also willing to share their life experiences, which was a real privilege and be brutally honest about the food which was very funny!
What would your advice be for someone stepping up into a PD role?
My advice would be to trust the experience you have so far, it’s just a case of applying that knowledge. Also be willing to jump out of your comfort zone when developing new skills.
And lastly, what are your favourite TV shows of all time and what are you watching at the moment?
Growing up I loved British and Irish Comedy like ‘Spaced’ and ‘Black Books’ and seeing them evolve into a new generation like ‘Taskmaster’ and ‘Derry Girls’. At the moment, I am binge watching The West Wing in the run up to the US presidential election – it’s a great way to switch off and is a master class in storytelling!
You can watch Takeaway or Fakeaway on ITVX and the ITV YouTube channel from the 18th November.
