Meet The Team
At the helm of Gritty Talent, Reema is an experienced Senior Leader known for guiding teams through complex creative projects with clarity and collaboration. Taking Gritty Talent to greater heights and expanding the company portfolio, she is driven by creating happy and inclusive work environments where people can innovate, perform at their best and deliver excellent results. She has a cross-genre background in programme making for major broadcasters including Channel 4 and the BBC where she led on award winning, cross-platform formats. Reema has also been a Senior Lecturer on the MA in Wildlife film-making at UWE, is a trained mentor and coach and an active voice in the Creative Industry community.
Phoebe came to Gritty Talent with a background of 15 years making high end factual documentaries for global audiences. She has held several management roles, leading teams under pressure and ensuring productions are delivered to the highest standards. Phoebe oversees the operational management of the company, making sure projects run smoothly, teams feel supported and processes remain clear and efficient. She is passionate about using technology to deliver social, environmental and economic impact across all of Gritty’s work.
Charlotte (Charlie) brings her vast experience as a Senior Creative Leader to our team, forming key client relationships, building partnerships and guiding our creative vision. Charlie leads key client projects, designs and delivers training programmes and oversees our mentoring programme. She is also a Mental Health First Aider and a champion of inclusive, supportive and collaborative teams. Charlie is an award-winning Executive Producer and creative leader with over 25 years experience creating distinctive natural history and factual content for global audiences. She has led major productions, earning multiple Emmy and BAFTA awards.
Shana designs and implements technology solutions to support creative projects at Gritty Talent. She develops applications and tools that streamline workflows and enable innovative content delivery. Shana also manages and improves operational systems, runs online events and ensures processes run smoothly and efficiently. Combining creativity with technical expertise, she provides practical, innovative solutions that support the team and enhance the wider creative sector.
Charlotte excels at connecting people across the creative sector and building new partnerships whilst nurturing and up-skilling individuals. She is a key player on our team for training and development; designing, writing, and delivering tailored sessions to industry professionals on a range of topics. Charlotte is the lead designer and trainer on our ScreenSkills HETV HOD Inclusion Awareness programme and has co-designed and co-delivered much of our previous ScreenSkills training. She is also a trained mentor. Previous to joining Gritty Talent, Charlotte worked as a highly sought after TV Producer on series across multiple genres for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5.
Nina leads our off-screen talent recruitment services and tirelessly works to enhance representation within the Unscripted and HETV Scripted Sector, working with production companies to deliver them high quality candidates with aptitude, skills and potential. Nina also designs and delivers workshops for our Bootcamps programmes and is a trained mentor. Her adventurous ethos inspires others to embrace challenges and realise their potential, contributing positively to the creative sector and the people she works with. Nina has nearly 20 years of experience in TV and joined Gritty to focus on nurturing and supporting talent.
Our Associates
Steph teaches documentary and factual story structure for John Yorke Story and ScreenSkills, and story consults within the industry and for corporate clients. She has 30 years experience producing and directing in the television and film industry. A trained journalist and BAFTA Elevate member, she’s worked independently, and with major broadcasters and streamers, to make awards-nominated factual, drama and hybrid content. Steph co-founded and co-directs BUNS - Bristol Unscripted Network, with a group of fellow freelancers – where she devises, produces and presents live panels, interviews and events. She also hosts Q&As for Bath Literature Festival and RTS West. Steph loves writing and performing for community theatre in Bristol and also writes fiction. She’s passionate - and pretty nerdy – about the empathic and connective power of storytelling in all its forms.
Niall Strawson is a Producer-Director and recognised leader in accessible, inclusive television production, with experience across premium factual clients including BBC Studios, Apple TV+, and National Geographic/Disney+. He combines high-end factual storytelling with a commitment to transforming industry practice at every stage of production. As one of the few disabled PDs working in premium factual, Niall brings both lived experience and a deep understanding of how to make productions genuinely accessible. He has led inclusive approaches to location work, championed diverse contributor casting, and developed practical solutions for access in both remote and the built environments. Niall is also a regular speaker on disability representation, inclusive production practice and accessible design across the creative industries. Niall has worked with indies, broadcasters and post houses to embed meaningful accessibility across editorial and production processes. He is passionate about championing under-represented voices and empowering teams to create environments where everyone can shine, contribute fully and do their best work.
Kerry has recently re-trained, adding media production psychology to her impressive skillset and we are delighted to have her expertise as one of our Gritty associates. She looks forward to applying her psychological skills to working with creative and innovative teams. Kerry also offers assessment, consultation, supervision and training. A doctor of Educational Psychology, Kerry is registered with the Health and Care Professions Counsel, British Psychological Society and Media Production Psychology Registry. Her work includes local authority and private sector consultation, assessment and therapeutic work. She lectures at Imperial College London on a summer school programme. She also provides training and reflective supervision spaces for the education, care and corporate sectors, focusing on developing trauma-informed and psychologically safe spaces.
Michelle Pascal is a filmmaker, mentor, and media professional with more than 20 years’ experience in television. She began her BBC career in the newsroom as a video journalist and reporter before going on to produce and direct flagship factual programmes including Countryfile, Antiques Roadshow, and DIY SOS: Big Builds. She has also worked as a Talent Manager at Icon Films, supporting and developing creative talent across the industry. Alongside her factual work, Michelle moved into drama. Her BFI-funded directorial debut, Hats, explores the relationship between a Black British woman and her ailing West Indian mother, screening internationally and winning multiple awards, including Best First-Time Filmmaker at Toronto’s Alternative Film Festival. Michelle is the founder of Fam Films CIC, a creative hub championing global majority filmmakers and Black-led stories from the UK. Passionate about access, representation, and talent development, she actively supports community-based initiatives that ensure underrepresented stories are nurtured, valued, and sustained.
Vicki specialises in opening career pathways and developing essential professional skills. She was the Gritty Talent lead on the inaugural Skills Bootcamps in Virtual Production in partnership with the University of Bristol and My World, devising and shaping the employability, career development and leadership aspects of the programme. As a former Series Producer with over 15 years of experience in TV, Vicki also works with us as a freelance Talent executive and has a nose for finding high quality candidates that keep clients coming back year after year. Vicki is also a trained Mentor.
Our Founder
Mel is an award-winning business leader, inclusion consultant and advocate, with over 20 years’ experience working in the TV and wider screen sector. In 2019 she set up Gritty Talent with the mission to support and progress people from under-represented groups in TV and Film careers. Her own career has taken her across a range of production, training and leadership roles, including Creative Diversity Lead at Channel 4. She is currently Chief Executive Officer at Creative Access as well as Vice-Chair of Women in Film and TV. In the summer of 2025 Mel was awarded an honorary Honorary Doctor of Arts by the University of the West of England, in recognition of her long-held passion to drive equity, diversity and inclusion forward in creative and tangible ways in the Screen Industries. Mel is also the non-executive director and board member of Gritty Talent.