Brian Daly Award-winning factual television producer and executive will deliver the lecture on Thursday 7 July
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has today announced that BAFTA-nominated television producer and executive, Liz Warner will deliver the prestigious BAFTA Television Lecture on Thursday 7 July.
The BAFTA Television Lecture is the highlight of BAFTA's programme of television industry events, and is also open to the public. Each year, BAFTA invites one of television's foremost figures to give their personal view on creative excellence in television and their vision for the future. Previous speakers include Stephen Fry, Paul Abbott, Lorraine Heggessey, Kevin Lygo, Alan Yentob, Peter Bennett-Jones, Armando Iannucci, Lenny Henry and Tim Hincks.
Liz Warner founded independent production company betty in 2001, and was responsible for its growth into one of the UK’s top indies before leaving her position as CEO in 2015. Her work includes The Undateables, which was BAFTA-nominated in the Reality and Constructed Factual category in both 2014 and 2015, as well as other programmes which were RTS, Emmy and Edinburgh innovation award winners.
During the lecture, Liz Warner will share her views on the broader creative landscape with a particular focus on the impact of digital. She will question if, in the Internet era, a less maverick, less flamboyant television industry can be attractive and relevant to the younger generation of creatives. She sounds an alarm bell for the future creative economy.
The lecture will be followed by a discussion chaired by journalist Sathnam Sanghera.
Krishnendu Majumdar, Chair of the BAFTA Television Committee said: “Liz Warner is one of the UK television industry’s most successful and highly-esteemed leaders. Her creative brilliance helped take betty from a small start-up to a major production company which consistently delivers high-quality programmes for its audiences. Through the Television Lecture, BAFTA aims to drive the debate around creativity in broadcasting and we look forward to hearing Liz’s views on the future of creative excellence in television - where it is at its strongest and what the industry can do to foster it.”
Public tickets for the BAFTA Television Lecture will go on sale 13.00 Friday 27 May. To book tickets, go to www.bafta.org/whats-on/.
Video highlights, a podcast and a transcript from the event will be available on BAFTA Guru, BAFTA’s online learning channel (www.bafta.org/guru). Recordings of previous Television Lectures are available now.
‘BAFTA Television Lecture: Liz Warner’ event details:
Thursday 7 July at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly in London
19:00 Champagne Taittinger Reception[KKF1]
19:30 Event commences
Liz Warner Biography:
Liz Warner is a former Channel 4 commissioning editor, where she oversaw the first UK series of Big Brother, Grand Designs, River Cottage, Nigella Bites and Location, Location, Location.
After leaving Channel 4, Liz Warner founded the independent TV production company, betty on a bedrock of contemporary documentaries and grew it into one of the UK's top 30 indies. As the CEO she managed year on year growth for 10 years before selling the company to Discovery Networks International in 2011. Her programming heritage spans contemporary docs, features and factual drama, much of it infused with social purpose, such as The Joy of Teen Sex, Beauty and the Beast, The Autistic Gardener, Breaking up with the Jones's and Spendaholics, and The Undateables which received BAFTA nominations for Reality and Constructed Factual in both 2014 and 2015. She has also won RTS, Emmy and Edinburgh innovation awards for her work.
Since leaving her role at betty in 2015, Liz has been working on a new digital venture and has mentored and helped a number of startups including a young digital company and two television indies. She has acted as content consultant to Stylist magazine's digital director and also invested in and sits on the board of two other media companies.
As a leader and mentor, Liz firmly believes in equal rights for people of all classes and backgrounds and was named CDN's Diversity Champion in 2015 for her commitment to diversity both on and off the screen. She continues to mentor and train multicultural talent and champion disability.
For further information, please contact:
Eleanor Pickering at BAFTA
T +44 (0) 20 7734 0022
E [email protected]
Niyi Akeju at BAFTA
T +44 (0) 20 7292 5865
E [email protected]
About BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – featuring workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes – in the UK, USA and Asia; it offers unique access to the world’s most inspiring talent and connects with a global audience of all ages and backgrounds. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. To access the best creative minds in film, television and games production, visit www.bafta.org/guru. For more, visit www.bafta.org.
