Jenny Saunders

Jenny worked in politics and public relations campaigning on health and social issues before embarking on her career as a producer. In 2009, she produced an animated series about mental health for children called Troubled Minds which won a BAFTA at the Children’s Awards, and has since gone on to work with some of the UK’s foremost filmmakers, including BAFTA winners Jeremy Brock and Peter Kosminsky. Jenny co-developed and produced Baby P: The Untold Story which was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Single Documentary at the 2015 Television Awards and described by The Guardian as a “lucid, beautifully stitched film, painstakingly researched by Jenny Saunders.” She is currently working on projects with her collaborator Henry Singer and with Jeremy Brock. Jenny is also writing a fact-based drama and developing a documentary that she hopes to produce and direct.

Jenny says: “BAFTA is such an inspiring, iconic institution – long before I started working in TV and film, I’d always watch the Awards – so it feels like a bit of a dream to be named as a Breakthrough Brit. It also feels like the challenge is really on. I want to make great films and hope that BAFTA’s support will help take me to the next level, creatively and professionally – so now I’m just really looking forward to making the most of this opportunity. Every aspect of being a Breakthrough Brit excites me, not least the element of the unknown. I also can’t wait for the mentoring meetings and the chance to meet and learn from some of the filmmakers who have most inspired me over the years.”