Channel 4

Alex Mahon: fearlessly being 4

Ask Alex Mahon to name the best bits about her job and without hesitation she says it’s when outstanding programmes receive the recognition they deserve. It could be a breakthrough comedy such as Derry Girls or Russell T Davies’s bittersweet It’s a Sin – or the recent Cannes Grand Prix winner, Film4’s The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer’s German-language Holocaust film based on the Martin Amis novel.

Channel 4 commissions new comedy created by and starring Rosie Jones

Jones stars as Emily, a young woman who has lost her state benefits after being made redundant. She is highly educated, hilarious and quick witted, but she also has very little left to lose, and so building an illegal drugs empire seems like the natural next step.

Emily’s cerebral palsy works in her favour; all her life people have been overlooking her and pretending she’s not there, and now this means her new business flies completely under the radar. Her disability becomes the perfect disguise.

Late Night Lycett to return for a second series

Late Night Lycett

The first series celebrated inclusivity, with the city of Birmingham at the heart of the show. Each week, Lycett welcomed famous faces to the banks of Digbeth, including actor Dame Joanna Lumley, comedian and actor Rob Delaney, comedian Judi Love, presenter Alison Hammond, model and activist Munroe Bergdorf, reality star Gemma Collins and presenter Joel Dommett.

Channel 4, BBC and NFTS to launch new freelancer support programme

In partnership with the National Film and Television School, the programme will provide free masterclasses, workshops, training and wellbeing sessions across two weeks in October 2023.

The sessions will be delivered online to ensure it is accessible to all freelancers across the country, and will explore topics as varied as financial planning, networking and development.

Sinead Rocks, Managing Director of Nations and Regions at Channel 4, said: “The TV production sector is facing unprecedented challenges and we know that many freelancers are struggling.

Channel 4 commissions new comedy thriller from writer of Derry Girls

Like Derry Girls, McGee’s new comedy focuses on a Northern Irish female friendship group, but this time one in their late thirties. Robyn, Saoirse and Dara have been friends since high school. Now, Robyn is a mother with three young boys and a penchant for swearing, Saoirse is a successful writer who can’t help but self-destruct, and Dara still lives in her childhood bedroom whilst caring for her elderly parent full-time.

"There is a mental health crisis that follows any war": James W Newton on the making of Evacuation, his powerful documentary on the fall of Kabul

It's the combination of such raw, immediate footage, and the completely candid testimonies of civilians and soldiers, that makes James W Newton's documentary on the Taliban's capture of Kabul in 2021, Evacuation, so indelible.

The Piano to continue search for Britain’s next top pianists with two more series

Channel 4 has commissioned two new series of The Piano, this time with seven episodes instead of five. Like series one, each episode will feature one public piano in the UK and some of Britain’s best undiscovered virtuosos.

Series one’s stand-out performer was the 13-year-old blind and neurodivergent Lucy. Since captivating the nation, she has gone on to play at the coronation concert in front of royalty.