Scala Radio

I’m currently on maternity leave, having recently concluded my role as Programme Manager at Scala Radio. I joined in January 2019 and had a fascinating few months preparing the new classical music and entertainment station for launch in March that year. The role involved overseeing the day-to-day output of the station, managing the programming team, forward planning programming initiatives, briefing presenters, commissioning and developing new series, recruiting new presenters and staff members, processing invoices, implementing budget changes and working closely with the commercial, marketing, digital and press teams at Bauer.

In addition, I produced a selection of the shows, and I thoroughly enjoyed being a hands-on producer as well as having a managerial role, especially when the programmes were as much fun to make as Mark Kermode‘s film music show, a weekly video games music show hosted by Luci Holland and Simon Mayo‘s weekend programmes which, in their various iterations, involved the Official Scala Singles Chart and a food and drink slot with the inimitable Nigel Barden.

Over the years I produced additional shows, series, podcasts and one-off specials such as Alexis Ffrench‘s Sunday afternoon show, TV On The Radio with Segun Akinola, Scala Radio at the Opera with Penny Smith, The Empire Playlist with Amon Warmann, Beethoven: The Basics with Andy Bush, a series hosted by Oscar-winning composer and general musical legend Anne Dudley, The Music of John Williams, episodes of Charlie Higson & Friends, My Life in Live Music and She Scores on Scala Radio.

I also oversaw the Scala Radio Book Club, securing weekly interviews with authors such as Isabel Allende, Monica Ali, Douglas Stuart, Emma Donoghue, Kate Mosse, Joanne Harris, Harlan Coben, Ian McEwan, Maggie O’Farrell, Ben Okri, Ruth Ozeki, Candice Carty-Williams and Kamila Shamsie, and devising marketing initiatives to promote Independent Bookshops Week, the Indie Bookshop Fiction Title of the Month and the Indie Book Awards.

Heart

I was Executive Producer of Ellie Taylor and Anna Whitehouse, a Sunday evening sex and relationships show on the Heart network, from July to December 2018.

I worked closely with the two brilliant presenters to prepare the show for launch, and to determine the tone and style of the show, from the topics we covered to the guests we invited into the studio.

I really enjoyed learning more about the Heart brand and the freedom we were given to create a show that might have been considered a bit too edgy or risky elsewhere! It was also great fun launching the show podcast – and Heart’s first ever podcast – Ellie and Anna Have Issues.

Classic FM

I joined the team in 2012 as Senior Producer and was promoted to the role of Executive Producer in 2015, shortly after winning Producer of the Year at Global’s company-wide awards.

I worked full-time at Classic FM until July 2018, producing the following:

Weekday and weekend programmes including Classic FM’s More Music Breakfast with Tim Lihoreau, Alexander Armstrong, Bill Turnbull, Aled Jones, Alan Titchmarsh, Smooth Classics with Myleene Klass, Saturday Night at the Movies with Andrew Collins, Cowan’s Classics, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Nicholas Owen, Classic FM Drive with John Brunning, David Mellor and The Classic FM Chart.

Limited series including The Sound of Music with Howard Goodall and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Turning Points with Julie Walters, Tasting Notes with Simon Callow, Classic FM’s Summer Book Club, Mozart: The Man Revealed and Beethoven: The Man Revealed with John Suchet, Wynne Evans’ Guide to Opera, High Score, Countdown to the Classic Brits, The Katherine Jenkins Collection and Joan Bakewell’s Lovers.

One-off programmes and documentaries including Benjamin Britten’s Women, Christmas at Buckingham Palace and Behind the Curtain: A Royal Opera House Special.

Arts and culture programmes such as The Summer Book Club with Alexander Armstrong, featuring book reviews and interviews, and Charlotte Green’s Culture Club, in which the former BBC Radio 4 announcer interviewed actors, musicians, directors, comedians and writers. I worked closely with the Ents Hub and publicists to secure high-profile interviews, in studio or at junkets, for this weekly show and also for special editions of Saturday Night at the Movies, such as a Star Wars special including interviews with Harrison Ford, John Boyega and JJ Abrams, and for Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Classical Music with Catherine Bott, in which the acclaimed singer and broadcaster interviewed Meryl Streep about the art of singing.

Outside Broadcasts and special events including a live broadcast outside Buckingham Palace hosted by Bill Turnbull to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and live broadcasts at concert venues across Scotland as part of the station’s partnership with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

I left my full-time role at Classic FM in July 2018, but worked at the station in a freelance capacity until January 2019, as Executive Producer on Saturday Night at the Movies, which was nominated for Radio Programme of the Year at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards in 2018, and video game music series High Score.

Absolute Radio

I was a Music Producer at Absolute Radio in 2011-2012, scheduling digital networks Absolute 80s and Absolute Classic Rock, producing interview specials and specialist series hosted by Heaven 17 and Howard Jones and editing pre-recorded shows.

I produced documentaries for the Absolute Radio Network in my role as Producer at TBI Media, such as Absolute Blur (Sony Gold Award for Best Live Event Coverage 2010), The Elbow Story (Sony Award nominee for Best Music Special 2010), Killer Queen and a 6-part series about rock and roll excess hosted by Iain Lee called Excess All Areas.

BBC Radio 2

In my freelance role as Producer at independent production company TBI Media from 2009-2012, I produced the Sony Gold Award-winning music documentary The John Bonham Story (also broadcast on BBC 6 Music), and arts documentary Fifty Years of To Kill A Mockingbird, which won the Silver Award for Best Culture and the Arts at the 2011 New York Radio Festival Awards.

I also produced episodes of Pause For Thought, having been a member of the team that successfully pitched for the religious programming strand, and worked on numerous pitches for BBC commissions for one-off programmes and strands.

BBC Radio 1

I was a freelance Assistant Producer in the Specialist Music team between 2010-2011, working on live and pre-recorded shows including Fabio & Grooverider, Rob da Bank, Kutski and Nihal.

Free Radio

I produced Sam and Mark on Free Radio from 2010 to 2012, broadcasting live across the West Midlands every Sunday morning.

CBeebies

I was a freelance Producer in the CBeebies radio team in 2009 to 2011, scripting and producing radio programmes for pre-schoolers and their families for broadcast on digital radio network BBC Radio 7 (now BBC Radio 4 Extra).

LBC

I was a Weekend Producer at the speech radio station in 2009-2010, working on live shows hosted by a range of presenters including Cristo Foufas, Nick Abbot and Clive Bull.

Xfm South Wales

I was Senior Producer at the short-lived addition to the Xfm network (now Radio X) in 2007-2008. I worked with the programming team to prepare the station for launch, developing the schedule, briefing producers and recruiting and training new presenting talent. After the launch, I oversaw the daytime output and provided music scheduling cover.

While I was at Classic FM, I returned to Xfm for some additional work as producer of The Beatdown, a hip hop and spoken word show hosted by Scroobius Pip.

Fun Radio (now Fun Kids)

I was the Programme Controller of the children’s digital radio station from its launch in 2005 to 2007. The role involved building the music database and devising the programming schedule before launch, followed by overseeing the day-to-day operations, including music scheduling, feature production, briefing presenters and liaising with publishers and content providers.

BBC Radio 1Xtra

My first radio job was in 2004 as Xtra Talent presenter at BBC Radio 1Xtra. This involved presenting live shows across the network, receiving studio training and the opportunity to shadow other shows.