Angela Jain becomes ITV Studios’ first Director of Unscripted in the UK.
“ITV Studios houses some of the best unscripted programme makers in the world and this genre is all set to continue to grow. Angela’s vast amount of experience, leadership qualities and knowledge make her the perfect person to be named as our first Director of Unscripted in the UK.” – Julian Bellamy, Managing Director, ITV Studios
Jain brings to the role many years of experience in both production and commissioning. She sits on the board of The Edinburgh TV Festival Foundation, London First and is an Ambassador for Creative Access whose board she sat on for a number of years. She is also on the RTS Education Committee. Angela also sits on the Executive Committee for Studio 55 Ventures – ITV’s investment fund for entrepreneurs with the next big idea.
ITV Studios’ first Director of Unscripted in the UK is a newly created role that reflects the growth of unscripted within ITV Studios over the past five years, which now houses 11 non-scripted labels with an impressive, award-winning, slate of programmes. In this new role, Angela will have overall P&L responsibility for the UK unscripted group, with the MDs of the 11 unscripted UK labels reporting directly to her. Angela will work with each label and also the wider studios leadership team to support the continued growth and development of the UK unscripted business.
Currently Managing Director of Lifted Entertainment (part of ITV), she oversees some of the biggest, award-winning entertainment shows in the world, including I’m A Celebrity…..Get Me Out Of Here!; Love Island; Countdown, University Challenge, The Voice and the upcoming Walk The Line.
Prior to joining Lifted Entertainment, Angela spent a number of years in commissioning, as well as managing the ITV digital channels and running the acquisitions team. During her time at ITV2, Angela acquired Family Guy and commissioned the award-winning shows: Plebs, The Big Reunion and controversial Love Island. Angela was the Controller of E4 during which time she commissioned Misfits and The Inbetweeners. She has also worked as a commissioner at Channel 4 and Channel 5.
Angela’s career started in television production where she worked in a number of genres, initially as a researcher at the BBC, before becoming a series producer for Channel 4. She takes up the role in January 2022 and will oversee some of the UK’s most successful unscripted labels including Potato, Possessed, Rollercoaster Television, Boom, Multistory Media, Twofour, 12 Yard Productions, The Garden, So Television, Lifted Entertainment and Oxford Scientific Films.
“I am thrilled to be leading such a talented group of labels, producing some of the most-watched and loved shows on British television. I am looking forward to working more closely with the UK Studios Management Team and Julian to maximise every opportunity.
“Even though I’m not going far, I do leave behind an incredible, kind and hardworking team at Lifted Entertainment. We have had the best of times and some difficult times too, but I will remember my time at Lifted Entertainment with great fondness because it was so creatively rewarding, interesting and fun” – Angela Jain
For over forty years ITV was a network of regional production teams competing for air time across the network with brands such as LWT, Tyne Tees, Central, Anglia, YTV, Granada, Meridian, HTV and Westcountry offering up creative ideas. Since 2003 the company has realigned over time into one main production hub, initially ITV Productions and latterly ITV Studios. This has seen a change from regional production teams producing a mix of formats to labels producing one type of production, be it entertainment or factual and so on.
ITV have cut from 15 studio centres down to three main network output centres in Leeds and Salford and hired space in London.
