About

I'm a director working across live events, entertainment, music, theatre, news and factual entertainment, with more than 25 years in television.

I started in news. At 21 I became the BBC's youngest network news director, cutting the main network bulletins and directing hundreds of outside broadcasts around the world, including a US Presidential Election from Washington. Then I moved into children's, on Blue Peter and Saturday mornings, and from there into entertainment, which is where I found the work I wanted to do. By the time I left the BBC I'd directed most of what it made, live and recorded: Top of the Pops, Crimewatch, Watchdog, The National Lottery, Last Choir Standing.

It's been an eclectic career and I've enjoyed all of it, largely because nothing repeats and there's always something new to work out. I've directed stages at Glastonbury for the BBC every year since 2004. I launched The One Show and Pointless. I've made game shows for ITV and Channel 4, The Grand Tour finale for Amazon Studios and Hannah Gadsby's Gender Agenda for Netflix. In the States I've directed Name That Tune for FOX, RuPaul's Lingo for CBS and Queen of the Universe for Paramount+. I also series-direct Question Time, because nothing says variety like bouncing from drag queens to cabinet ministers.

Recently I've been capturing theatre for the screen. That work runs through Human Eyes, the company I co-founded with Simon Goodman, and it was new to me when we started. It has turned out to be the most interesting thing I've done in years.

I still vision mix. Given the choice I'll cut live music myself. Everywhere else it's just a useful thing to have, because I know what I'm asking for when I plan it.

Much of the work is pre-recorded, but it's all shot with a live mentality. Cover it properly first time, because the moment you're hoping for tends not to happen twice.