Jane Tranter has been named advisory chair for the 50th Edinburgh TV Festival as the fest overhauls the way in which it compiles its program and gets rid of its advisory committee.
Tranter, who runs Doctor Who producer Bad Wolf, will work closely with Creative Director Rowan Woods to set the editorial agenda and lead the curation of this year’s Festival. That agenda will be guided by an open call for session ideas, an open call for session producers and a series of open hall town meetings with industry across the UK attended by Tranter and creative director Rowan Woods to discuss key issues and themes for the sector. This will replace the previous advisory committee model, which saw dozens of industry figures come together to compile the program and has been scrapped.
The news comes as the 2025 edition is set to be the 50th for the festival that brings together the great and the good of the British TV industry. It will also feature the 50th prestigious MacTaggart lecture and include “a series of exciting new programming initiatives,” according to the fest.
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“A major theme of last year’s Festival was the vital importance of inclusion and plurality of perspective, and it is in this spirit that we’re making significant steps to open up the Festival’s programming process,” said Woods. “The ethos of the Edinburgh has always been ‘by the industry, for the industry’ and we want to ensure that everyone feels able to contribute regardless of background, seniority or location.”
Last year’s MacTaggart was delivered by Dear England creator James Graham, who passionately argued for greater working class representation. Woods is into her second year as creative chief.
Jane Tranter
Tranter is a former BBC drama boss who established BBC Worldwide Productions (now BBC Studios Productions) and has for the past decade been running Bad Wolf with Julie Gardner. That outfit, which is owned by Sony, has made the likes of His Dark Materials, I Hate Suzie and, more recently, Doctor Who with Tranter’s long-time creative partner Russell T Davies. Outside of Bad Wolf, Tranter was EP on global smash Succession.
Having a big name scripted producer who has made shows on both sides of the pond chairing the fest feels apt as the UK industry is currently being hit seriously hard by the American slowdown. As the boss of a Wales-based company, Tranter is also a passionate advocate for out-of-London commissioning – a hot topic at present.
Festival Chair Fatima Salaria said: “We couldn’t be more excited to have a powerhouse like Jane leading the Festival in such a landmark year. Her strong leadership, passionate advocacy for the nations and regions, and global vision make her the perfect force to drive us forward.”
Tranter said the “continued success of the Edinburgh TV Festival is a clear illustration of the impact that the nations have had – and continue to have – on the cultural landscape of the UK, and around the world.”
“The UK TV industry has flourished in the last half century and in no small way that is due to distinct, diverse and talented people, both on and off camera, making their voices heard,” she added. “The Edinburgh TV Festival has always embraced a passionate debate and for its 50th anniversary I’d like to hear those voices rise to a loud, discursive, celebratory roar.”
Last year’s chair was Amazon’s Harjeet Chhokar.
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