UK based Woodcut Media has appointed Derren Lawford as Joint Creative Director effective Sep 24. The announcement was made by Kate Beal, Chief Executive and Joint Creative Director, Woodcut Media, to whom he will report.

Derren Lawford

Based in London, Lawford will work alongside Kate Beal to secure commissions, as well as oversee the company’s strategic developments over the coming months. He will also play an integral part in the execution of production operations domestically and internationally.

Lawford joins Woodcut Media from the UK channel London Live, where he was Commissioning Executive. During his tenure he commissioned and acquired programmes for Raw, an experimental multi-genre zone which gave TV debuts to a host of You Tubers. He also commissioned a raft of documentaries for the channel’s Platform 8 strand which included programmes such as Trap Town, No Place Like Home, Fight Club London and Beggar Off, to mention a few.

Prior to this, he was Head of Content at youth media agency Livity, worked as Editorial Advisor for SB.TV’s Jamal Edwards and had a long-standing career in various roles at the BBC.

There he was Head of Programming and Scheduling, Global iPlayer for BBC Worldwide, where he was responsible for the development and execution of the programming, scheduling and acquisitions strategy for their subscription on-demand service in 16 territories around the world. Lawford also held positions as Panorama’s Multiplatform Editor and was the Multiplatform Executive Producer for the award-winning Our War.

“I am thrilled to be joining Woodcut Media having worked with Kate during my time as a commissioner at London Live. The company’s ethos and vision chimes perfectly with my own approach to production and I’m really excited at the prospect of working more closely with Kate to develop and produce creative projects that will really make a difference. I’ve had an amazing time at London Live, working with some great new and diverse, on and off screen talent. Now I’m relishing the opportunity to have the freedom to develop and work with them in the future for a whole host of broadcasters,” said Lawford.

“As Woodcut Media gathers momentum, we are pleased to welcome Derren to our team. He is a highly regarded media executive, and one of the most creative people I know. He brings a wealth of experience to his role and he will no doubt prove to be a valuable asset to our company as we continue to grow and expand. We make a great team and share the same philosophy of making fantastic content with talented people,” added Kate Beal, Chief Executive & Joint Creative Director, Woodcut Media.

This announcement follows on from last month’s acquisition of Talent TV South by Sitchcombe Productions, and the rebrand and re-launch of the new company as Woodcut Media.