TV producers and presenters head to Leeds for Creative Cities Convention

Leaders and commentators from creative industries, including TV movers and shakers, are this week in Yorkshire as part of the Creative Cities Convention.

Taking place at the Leeds College of Music, the event brings together a nationally significant line-up of creatives, industry leaders and commentators. It will celebrate the richness and diversity of talent and the growth of global production across the UK.

The line-up of speakers includes Alex Mahon from Channel 4, Charlotte May from the BBC, Peter Bazalgette at ITV, Channel 5’s Ben Frow, John McVay for PACT, Bradford-born presenter Anita Rani, screenwriter Kay Mellor and will be hosted by Kirsty Wark.

Students from Leeds and Bradford will learn ‘How to get a job in TV’ at a Royal Television Society masterclass led by Leeds-based TV production company True North and Newcastle-based Lime Pictures. The session will include insider tips about job roles and insight into the opportunities available.

Ruth Pitt, director, Creative Cities Convention, said: “It’s fantastic that Leeds City Region has enabled 40 young students who would not otherwise be attending our conference to hear up-to-the-minute industry debate, to network with producers and industry leaders and to tell us what they think of us.

“We need enthusiastic and diverse next-generation talent if our industry is to thrive in the future. Everything we do is being challenged by the revolution in how we produce and distribute programme content and I’m sure they will teach us at least as much as we can teach them.”

Roger Marsh, chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, added:  “The creative industries are a route to engaging our fast-growing, young population, as support for our #4sparks campaign shows. A Channel 4 presence here could be the spark that takes it to a new level.

“In many ways this is a self-fulfilling prophecy. As a region we see a huge desire from the next generation of young, digital and diverse talent to pursue careers in the vibrant screen industry. In return the sector is committed to getting new voices on screen and the creation of new digital content. The Creative Cities Convention has provided a logical meeting place for these two ambitions to align.”

The convention comes at a time when the media has a bigger role than ever to play in improving how diverse audiences across the UK are reached and represented.  The UK’s creative industries are growing twice as fast as the UK economy as a whole and account for £92bn of Gross Valued Added (GVA) and two million jobs.

Screen Yorkshire reports that the growth of Yorkshire & Humber’s film and TV industries outstripped that of every other part of the UK, including the South East. The figures showed that between 2009-2015, Yorkshire’s Film & TV Industries generated an annual turnover of £424m across 590 creative businesses with Gross Value Added (GVA) increasing 242% in comparison to a UK average growth of 120%.