FORMER FAST TRACKERS
2023 COHORT
TIM WREFORD
Wales
With the support network set up by FFT, I've not only enjoyed improved employment opportunities and mental health, but have also been recognised and hired for the role I trained in upon completion of my placement. I have a new confidence and am exceedingly grateful to all those involved in FFT.
Producer
GERAINT THOMAS
Wales
FFT has allowed me to develop a well-rounded skill set and given me a clear and purposeful direction that under normal circumstances, would have taken years to achieve. I have had the opportunity to engage with and learn from industry leaders and top executives. The scheme has truly been a game-changer.
Producer
FFION WILLIAMS
Wales
Fast Track has opened doors and introduced me to a UK wide network of talented and accomplished TV execs and production teams. It would be impossible for me to meet any of these people without this scheme.
SERIES Producer & DEVELOPMENT EXEC
ELANA CAMPBELL
West
Fast Track is a career gamechanger. The training and placement help establish you, and money can’t buy the network I have built on the scheme. I feel more confident about the lay of the TV land after my year on Fast Track
PRODUCER
ERIC HAYNES
Wales
FFT is a privilege. It has introduced me to a great set of peers. It’s given me valuable new perspective on and connections within the TV landscape and it’s allowed me, with the help and support of my peers and fantastic course leaders, to step back and reconsider my aims and ambitions as a filmmaker. It’s excellent.
SERIES Producer
SALLY WEALE
Wales
FFT has been absolutely brilliant for expanding my networks and gaining insights into different editorial approaches to content across a huge range of genres and platforms. The opportunities for professional and leadership development have been invaluable - thanks to everyone who contributed.
SERIES Producer
JACQUELINE LEE
Wales
Factual Fast Track has taken down an invisible barrier for me to network, specifically Channel 4. I’ve built a new and knowledgeable network of peers and worked with a company whom I might never have worked for if it weren’t for the scheme. The placement has given me confidence to aim higher, build my confidence and taken away any fear and preconceptions I had of working with network commissioners.
SERIES Producer
HANNAH HORAN
West
Fast Track has given me the confidence to push myself creatively and professionally, as well as providing me with an invaluable network of peers, mentors and industry contacts. It’s a safe space to ask questions, take risks and learn new skills which has given me the chance to reflect on my career to date and refocus my ambitions going forward.
SERIES Producer
CRAIG WITHYCOMBE
Wales
Factual Fast Track has been a brilliant experience. The masterclasses, training days and all-round support has been fantastic. It's both challenging and rewarding and I feel that it has been designed with considered thought, to really bring the best out of you with the aim of accelerating your career.
SERIES Producer
NOA SNOWDON
West
Fast Track has been a really empowering experience that has changed the course of my career. The comprehensive training and bespoke mentoring pushed me out of my comfort zone, significantly widened my network and given me the opportunity to work within a new genre.
SERIES Producer
PREVIOUS FAST TRACK ALUMNI
JASMYN MCGUILE
Jasmyn’s FFT placement was at RDF West where she was the development exec responsible for setting up RDF's first satellite development team. Jas went on to secure a role as a commissioning executive for factual entertainment and events at the BBC, and is now a commissioning editor.
Factual Fast Track was an invaluable, career-changing experience for me. The mentorship from the very best talent in the industry, combined with in depth and bespoke training, have had an incredible impact on my confidence and career progression.
IWAN ENGLAND
Iwan’s FFT placements were at four Welsh indies where he exec produced 4 x 30 films for BBC One’s Our Lives strand and worked with the BBC Wales commissioning team and Nations colleagues in curating the strand. Iwan is now working as Head of Unscripted Commissioning at S4C where he is tasked with developing co-productions, premium limited series and formats.
Fast Track cemented my love of Executive Producing, broadened my experience of working with different production companies and commissioners and strengthened my skills and knowledge in all kinds of areas. The training, mentoring and placements are valuable, and unlike many other schemes it creates a supportive network among the participants that lasts long after the course has finished.
CHER ADAMSON
Cher successfully made the move from development into production whilst on her FFT placement. She launched and SP'd the first series of Aldi’s Next Big Thing at South Shore for Channel 4 and went on to win a recommission, employing 2 of the next FFT cohort on the series 2.
Fast Track completely transformed my career - I gained my first Series Producer role in a company that I love working for, and have a huge amount of respect for. Two years later, I’m still with them and I feel really content with my career progression and just hugely excited to see what comes next. I have a whole new level of motivation and confidence at work and an invaluable network of close friends. It was one of my biggest years of growth and learning I’ve had in my career and I’ll be forever grateful for everyone involved in making it happen.
TOm CUNNINGHAM
Following his FFT placement at South Shore Wales where he worked on Freddie's Field of Dreams (BBC One) and Secret Spenders (Channel 4), Tom is now working as an Executive Producer at One Tribe TV overseeing series such as Amanda Holden's Sex: A Bonkers History (Sky History), Mayhem: The Georgian Kings (ZDF) and The One Big Thank You strand for BBC One's The One Show.
FFT has been one of the highlights in my career so far and I could not recommend it enough to anyone thinking of applying. The progression in my skills as a filmmaker and business winner of the future have been incredible, and I now feel 100% more confident in any TV situation. The course is curated to give a full 360-degree education of the industry and as such I feel like I'm getting closer to being the Exec in TV I want to be.
HELEDD ANGHARAD
Since finishing on FFT in 2022, Heledd has worked as an SP on three new series; Rookie Nurses for BBC 3, a new biography format called Taith Bywyd and a new political doc both made by Cardiff Productions for S4C.
Being on the Factual Fast Track scheme raised my profile and opened the door to a wider network of industry professionals. The combination of career coaching, outstanding training days and professional mentoring by some of the best in the business developed my skills, grew my confidence and gave me the tools I needed to be a series producer.
CATRIN ROWLANDS
Since finishing FFT, Catrin has put all her efforts into developing her own indie in West Wales, which has resulted in securing five S4C commissions. Being part of FFT taught Catrin invaluable skills which she is applying to running her own company and leading her production teams.
Being part of the Factual Fast Track scheme taught me so much about the industry and has enabled me to feel confident in my ability to grow my own indie. Learning new skills, having a brilliant mentor and coach as well as being part of a super supportive cohort has allowed me to believe in myself once again and to ‘go for it‘ as a business winner of Wales.
GWEN HUGHES
Since finishing the first ever FFT where she worked at RAW TV on her placement, Gwen’s production company Kailash Films has gone from strength to strength and is now one of the UK’s best premium documentary producers. Since FFT, Kailash has won multiple commissions, including two co-productions with Passion Pictures where her former commissioner mentor Hamish Fergusson is now Creative Director.
Thanks to FFT, I've not only accelerated my career and grown the company, but also discovered a new level of excellence within myself. I’m very grateful for this incredible opportunity
LAURA MARTIN ROBINSON
Laura’s FFT placement saw her return to network documentary making after several years working on award winning national output in Wales. Her FFT Placement was on a landmark documentary series with unprecedented police access for Channel 4. Her career has gone from strength to strength and she has since directed more prime time network documentaries including her current project for the BBC.
FFT was brilliant for my career, personal development and sense of community. I was given two incredible industry mentors, a placement on a landmark documentary series, invaluable industry masterclasses and joined a cohort of talented (and lovely) fellow Welsh programme makers.