18th November 2024
Stephanie Symington-Kurth – Fresh Cuts PD
As part of the acclaimed Fresh Cuts Strand for Disability History Month 2024, Stephanie Symington-Kurth makes their directorial debut for ITV, with her profile series Date My Nan, which follows disabled make-up artists as they give their nan a glam transformation before sending them on a blind date.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself?
"Works in TV and Likes the Gym" is how I tend to summarise myself, as these aspects take up a good 90% of my life. The other 10% consists of food, any sort of Arts and crafts, watching anime and hanging out with my Dogs, Olive and Link. It's hard not to make this sound like a dating profile, but I am, in fact, happily married.
I'm very happily living in Scotland, but will work anywhere in the world and my goal over the next few years is to see as many countries as possible! Next Up is Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea.
Did you always want to work in TV? How did you land your first role?
I have always wanted to work in TV. Thankfully, my Mum and Dad always supported my dream and encouraged me to pursue it. I didn't always get the same support from School, I actually once had a career advisor tell me to be more realistic with my ambitions. With the dream of being the next Louis Theroux, I went on to study Media at University which I adored. After uni, I worked part time in a shop, applying for any and every job I could find with no luck. I then started getting a lot of unpaid work experience at the BBC and STV before landing my first paid contract (it was only for one day) but not long after I got offered a 3-month contract and I’ve been in the industry ever since!
Why did you apply for Fresh Cuts this year? The thing that really stood out to me was that they were “not looking for the obvious or Cliché" disabled stories. Too often, diverse people only get one narrative on screen, and this needs to change. I’m very passionate about getting more disabled representation on screen, and that message just really spoke to me. You always have to hustle to get work as a freelancer - so I threw my hat in the ring. Never in a million years did I think I would get it, but I’m so grateful that I did!
What is your series about?
‘Date My Nan’ follows disabled make-up artists as they give their nan a glam transformation before sending them on a blind date.
What has been your biggest challenge producing this series? Do I have to pick just one? Stepping up in a new role is all about challenges. Every new role is full of them and it's what I love about taking one on, there is always so much to learn, and it's so exciting! If I had to pick one thing - it would be casting for a dating show. We wanted our dates to be compatible, as well as all of the other criteria you have to think about. Thankfully our Casting Researcher Chloe was a superstar. The whole team was very invested in making sure the contributors would have fun. Having never worked on a dating show before, it was a new layer to the casting process.
What was your favourite part about making it?
Again, do I have to pick just one thing? The format was wonderful, the contributors were fab, and the team was amazing and talented. I loved every bit of this process. Truly. But it was such a pinch-me moment walking into the studio on that first day as a PD. It was the best feeling.
What would your advice be for someone stepping up into a PD role?
Have a strong vision of the final outcome. Let that shape everything. Then, if you have to make a decision, just think, "Will this take me closer to that final vision or push me further away from it?"
And lastly, what are your favourite TV shows of all time and what are you watching at the moment?
Omg I could go on for hours! So I’ll narrow it down. In my opinion, Bojack Horseman is a perfect series. I also have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Game of Thrones - it's an all-time favourite! I love Bake Off, anything that Louis Theroux makes, Masterchef, Kitchen Nightmares, Bob’s Burgers, Dancing On Ice and Drag Race. Right now my husband and I are watching Married at First Sight (I’m a sucker for any dating/ wedding shows), and we’ve not long finished Attack on Titan.
Date My Nan is out now on ITVX and ITV"s YouTube Channel
15th November 2024
Meet Richard Walker – Fresh Cuts PD
As part of the acclaimed Fresh Cuts Strand for Disability History Month 2024, Richard Walker makes their directorial debut for ITV, with his profile series Unfiltered Women - a disabled-led chat show with Samantha Renke, Fats Timbo, and Jay Howard.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m a Manchester based director who studied TV Production at the University of Gloucestershire. After Uni I worked my way up from Runner to Shooting Researcher to Shooting AP/DV Director, and now my first credit as a PD.
Outside of TV, I’ve just completed my first half marathon, and I love watching sports, everything from American football to Formula 1 to wrestling.
Did you always want to work in TV? How did you land your first role?
Growing up, I watched a lot of TV so I think it was always meant to be. At University, I tried different genres from studio to drama and I fell in love with documentaries and I’ve loved working in unscripted television ever since.
I got my first runner job on ITV’s Dickinson’s Real Deal handing out casting flyers and supporting the filming team on set.
Why did you apply for Fresh Cuts this year?
As soon as I learnt Fresh Cuts was celebrating Disability History Month I jumped at the chance. I think it’s really important to have more disability representation in front of and behind the camera, and stepping up is one of the hardest things to do in television so I’m very grateful to have been given this opportunity.
What is your series about?
Unfiltered Women is a disabled-led chat show featuring three outspoken women, Samantha Renke, Fats Timbo, and Jay Howard. It's unapologetically disabled and their stories are powerful, insightful and need to be heard. You'll also have a laugh too!
What has been your biggest challenge producing this series?
Managing a team was a new experience for me, as I had to manage other people's workloads as well as my own. My Shooting AP Jake Whittle and Researcher Bianca Amponsah were fantastic, and it was wonderful having a team to bounce ideas off with. You cannot make a series on your own!
What was your favourite part about making it?
I love being on location, so our filming days were definitely my highlight. It was unusual for me to be sat behind viewing monitors rather than a camera, but I really enjoyed the directing experience. I was also really happy we created an environment where our panellists felt comfortable sharing their experiences.
What would your advice be for someone stepping up into a PD role?
Learn to delegate. When you have a lot of responsibility, it can feel like you want to do everything yourself but you have a team for a reason. Utilise other people's skills, ideas, and experiences and your programme will be better for it.
And lastly, what are your favourite TV shows of all time and what are you watching at the moment?
Gavin and Stacey has a special place in my heart. I have the first Christmas special and behind-the-scenes documentary on DVD and watch it every year.
Doctor Who Confidential is one of the reasons I was inspired to work in TV and I was so happy it was brought back for the most recent series.
I’m currently watching Series 18 of Taskmaster, Rosie Jones is hilarious!
13th November 2024
Meet Molly Dennis – Fresh Cuts PD
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.
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What has been your biggest challenge producing this series?
