Unscripted TV Development: Free Online Short Courses

Perjit has 13+ years in factual TV as an RTS award-winning Series Producer, an Edit Producer and a former Head of Development. She has won commissions from Channel 4, Channel 5 and worked on programming as diverse as a Joe Wicks series for 4OD to the Bafta-nominated Cbeebies series Maddie’s Do You Know.
She has made and developed factual content for terrestrial and multi-platform broadcasters and is experienced at working with talent and managing large teams to deliver primetime series and shaping shows in the edit.
She has a track record of developing ideas that win commissions and funded developments including: Shipmates (C4, 5×60), Joe Wicks: Body Coach (C4, 3×60), Tony Robinson’s Coast to Coast (C5, 6×60), Weighing up the Enemy (C4, 4×60), Fat Family Tree (C4, 60″)
Based in Leamington Spa, Perjit is a champion of the regions, producing and chairing local events on behalf of Women in Film and Television and RTS Midlands, where she is also on the committee. She has supported diverse off-screen talent via. Creative Access and the Channel 4 Trainee Scheme.

Sophie is a BAFTA nominated and RTS award-winning film and TV producer and commissioning editor. As Head of Development for production companies like September Films, Cineflix and World of Wonder she has developed, pitched, won and exec produced hundreds of hours of TV content for all major broadcasters across all genres with credits that include series Star Lives (ITV Saturday night Entertainment), European Nightmare (BBC Daytime), Pete Burns Unspun (Channel 4 Popular Docs), Haunted Homes (ITV2 Entertainment), Clubbing On The Frontline (Channel 4 Current Affairs) as well as originating and exec producing Channel 4’s first digital content This is a Knife. She also set up and ran September Films’ LA Development Department and ran LA-based indie World of Wonder’s (Ru Paul’s Drag Race) UK division. As Commissioning Editor for Living TV, she commissioned and Exec Produced the channel’s two highest rating series of Britain’s Next Top Model and Jade: With Love following Jade Goody’s battle with cancer.
Sophie is a vocal champion of neurodiverse talent in the industry and a ScreenSkills mentor for neurodiverse talent.

Johnny Rickard is a London-based development creative, generating ideas in the entertainment space for broadcasters across the world. A number of these have been already been commissioned and are coming to your screens across 2023.

Johnny started out by generating ideas in his bedroom – which resulted in him becoming a MIP Formats International Pitch finalist – beating more than 200 production companies across the world to reach the final five.

He has also had three entertainment formats optioned and secured a number of paid development deals with major UK broadcasters.

Johnny has worked with some of the biggest companies and shows. He is currently a Development Assistant Producer for BBC Studios Entertainment + Music, and before this was the sole development producer for a number of the most recent series of BBC Top Gear.

Johnny has a passion for creating exciting and engaging pitch decks and sizzle reels that both tell a story and bring format ideas to life.