About Us
What We Do
At Lifted Entertainment we create and produce some of the world’s most successful, unscripted formats. Our home grown, global hits include Love Island, I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, Dancing on Ice & Hell’s Kitchen.
Each year we produce over 500 hours of television for the UK, ranging from huge entertainment events like Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and The Voice, through quiz shows such as Countdown and University Challenge, to music performance shows like the forthcoming An Audience with Kylie as well as Factual Entertainment formats and documentaries like My Mum, Your Dad and Olivia Meets Her Match.
At the heart of this success are the wonderful people working at Lifted Entertainment. From our offices in London and Manchester, we have a mix of full time employees and freelancers producing award-winning, fun, funny and thought-provoking shows that raise the stakes in unscripted TV.
Meet The Team
Richard Cowles
Managing Director
Richard has been in position as Managing Director since February 2022. Prior to that he held multiple lead creative positions within ITV Studios, culminating in Director of Unscripted at Lifted Entertainment.
Described by Broadcast as TV ‘veteran’, Richard is proud of his long service to the industry and in that time, has produced and created formats across the whole unscripted genre. As a format creator, he is behind some of the best-loved shows currently on television in the UK and around the world, including Love Island, I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! & Hell’s Kitchen.
Despite his ‘veteran’ status, Richard’s passion for producing and creating unscripted television has in no way dulled. In his role as Managing Director, Richard oversees ITV Studios largest UK production label and over 500+ hours of Lifted Programming each year.
Jeanette Moffat
Head of Production
Having successfully overseen some of Lifted Entertainment’s biggest and most ambitious programming projects, including the move of The Voice UK from the BBC to ITV, the UK launch of The Voice Kids and the relaunch of Dancing on Ice, Jeanette became Deputy Head of Production in 2019, before being appointed Head of Production in 2021.
During her time with Lifted Entertainment Jeanette has also worked on some of the label’s most established shows, including I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Love Island, Hell’s Kitchen and Dancing on Ice and travelled from South Africa, to Australia to Mongolia!
Jeanette leads the Production Management team across Lifted’s London and Manchester offices.
Tom Gould
Director of Entertainment & Formats
Tom was appointed Director of Entertainment and Formats for Lifted Entertainment in 2022, after working on the label’s BAFTA-winning reality shows I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and Love Island as an executive producer and then Creative Director.
Having kicked off his TV career as a runner on an undercover investigations series for Carlton TV, Tom has more than 25 years’ experience working across numerous genres, including factual, entertainment and factual entertainment.
Tom’s previous credits include Hell’s Kitchen, Dancing On Ice, Surprise Surprise, Pride of Britain Awards, Britain’s Best Dish, Popstar to Operastar and Come Dine With Me.
As Director of Entertainment and Formats for Lifted Entertainment, Tom works closely with Richard Cowles on the label’s editorial strategy, and with Kat Hebden and the development team to win new business, while continuing to oversee I’m A Celebrity… in a Creative Director capacity.
Fiona Clark
Creative Director
Fiona joined Lifted Entertainment as a Creative Director in 2019 and since then has overseen The Voice UK, The Voice Kids, Dancing on Ice, The Royal Variety Performance, The British Soap Awards, The Prince’s Trust Awards and The Olivier Awards, as well as several one-off music specials, including Gary Barlow’s Night At the Museum & ‘An Audience With …Kylie’.
With more than 35 years’ experience in the industry, Fiona has worked on a wide range of music and entertainment shows, including Live Aid, Wogan, The Word, The Big Breakfast, Elton John At the Royal Opera House, Children In Need, An Audience With Michael Buble, Tonight At The London Palladium, the return of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and the BAFTA award winning Sound of Music Live.
Diego Rincón
Creative Director
Diego was appointed Creative Director at Lifted in August 2022, and primarily oversees all aspects of Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, In For A Penny and co-productions with Ant & Dec’s company, Mitre Studios.
Prior to joining as Creative Director, Diego had worked on 7 series of Saturday Night Takeaway, serving as Executive Producer for 3 of those series, and in that time the show won 4 BAFTAs for Best Entertainment Programme.
He has also Executive Produced Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, was Series Editor for the relaunch of Dancing On Ice, and with over 20 years of experience in the industry – starting life as a runner on Big Brother – has also worked on some of the biggest entertainment and factual entertainment shows including The Apprentice, Take Me Out, Children In Need, Great British Bake Off, and many more.
Mike Spencer
Creative Director
Mike has worked across all ten series of Love Island and was appointed Creative Director at Lifted Entertainment in 2022.
In his role, Mike oversees all aspects of Love Island both editorially and commercially including; Aftersun, Love Island: The Morning After Podcast and other reality commissions attached to the brand.
Mike started his career casting the stars of The Only Way Is Essex, helping to discover and Produce reality stars like Gemma Collins. He has launched various shows from development to commission such as Survival Of The Fittest, Olivia Meets Her Match and several Love Island spin off shows. He has also Produced shows such as Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Paul O’Grady Live, Splash! , Tool Academy and many more.
Lee McNicholas
Creative Director (North)
Lee joined Lifted Entertainment as Creative Director, North, in 2021.
With a TV career spanning more than 20 years, one of Lee’s first telly jobs was on the popular daytime show Cash In The Attic, before going on to produce award-winning formats such as How Clean Is Your House? and The Apprentice.
Lee worked on the very first series of The X Factor and eventually became creative director for show creators Syco Entertainment, where he also worked across several genres including quiz shows, documentaries and international entertainment formats.
During Lee’s time as executive producer of Britain’s Got Talent, the multi award winning show was recognised as the world’s most successful reality TV format.
Marcus McKinlay
Production Executive
Marcus joined Lifted Entertainment in 2015 as a line producer, working on the first series of Love Island and has subsequently overseen production management teams on multiple series of the show both in Spain and South Africa.
As Production Executive, Marcus now has production responsibility across several entertainment formats, including The Voice and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and has overseen taking live episodes of the latter to both Walt Disney World and Universal Studios.
Prior to joining Lifted Entertainment, Marcus worked as a freelancer across a number of prime-time entertainment and reality formats for BBC1, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky.
Micky Van Praagh
Head of On-Screen Talent
Micky was appointed Lifted Entertainment’s Head of On-Screen Talent in 2020, after working on some of the label’s biggest and most successful shows as a Casting Executive.
Previous credits include Soccer Aid, Celebrity Big Brother, Splash!, Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, which she still casts today.
As Head of On-Screen Talent, Micky oversees talent across all shows in the department and works closely with the editorial teams in the development of new ideas.
Kat Hebden
Head of Development
Kat has been Head of Development for Lifted Entertainment since 2020 and manages the London based development team.
Prior to joining, Kat was managing director of TV production company Fremantle’s youth label, Shotglass, where she was instrumental in creating the BAFTA nominated series Eating With My Ex.
Kat, whose first job was as a PA for the boss of a commercials production company, has also previously been responsible for running the digital and commercial strategies of some of the biggest global TV brands, such as The X Factor and Got Talent.
Clare Nichols
Production Executive
Clare has worked in entertainment her entire TV career and became a Lifted Entertainment Production Executive in 2019.
Starting out as a trainee Cost Manager, before becoming a Production Manager and then Line Producer, Clare has worked across many different shows, including Dancing On Ice, Saturday Night Takeaway, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! and Love Island.
Tracy Walker
Talent Executive (North)
Tracy has been Talent Executive for Lifted Entertainment’s shows based in Media City, Salford, since 2011.
As a professional resourcing executive, Tracy has crewed up on a variety of ‘shiny floor’ entertainment shows, across a range of budgets, including The Voice Kids, Countdown, University Challenge and Dress To Impress, to name just a few.
Before joining Lifted Entertainment, Tracy was a director of her own company during which time she was a consultant talent executive for ITV and other independent production companies in the North of England.
Claire Callaghan
Head of Welfare
Claire has worked with reality/talent show contributors since 2004, moving quickly from roles in casting to specialising in contributor welfare. Over the years she has looked after an array of people from singers on The Voice UK through to candidates on The Apprentice.
Claire joined Lifted Entertainment in 2016 and became Head of Welfare in 2020 overseeing Duty of Care on all Lifted Entertainment shows.
Claire has worked with colleagues at ITV to create protocols for various shows and also collaborates with outside partners such as Meta and Tik Tok to help safeguard Lifted Entertainment contributors.
Claire is extremely passionate about finding and training the next generation of Welfare talent.
Minal Patel
Head of HR
Minal joined Lifted Entertainment as Head of HR in 2018 and is responsible for the label’s London and Manchester teams.
With more than 15 years’ experience working in HR, Minal previously worked in banking and higher education before moving into TV production.
Before joining Lifted Entertainment, Minal worked across a number of TV genres, including factual, current affairs and documentaries. Minal and her team pride themselves on giving trusted advice for practical solutions.
Nilesh Patel
Head of Business Affairs
Nilesh became Head of Business Affairs for Lifted Entertainment in 2013, having previously worked on several other ITV Studios labels.
The wonderful team Nilesh manages ensure they provide the business with prompt and dependable advice as well as providing practical solutions to problematic issues.
Before joining Lifted Entertainment, Nilesh worked across various genres, including factual and daytime, but now oversees business affairs on the label’s biggest and most successful shows, including Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, The Voice UK and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
Karen Stockton
Deputy Head of Production
Karen became a Lifted Entertainment Production Executive in 2012 and is based at Media City, Salford.
Having started her career with the BBC, before joining ITV, Karen has worked on a wide range of hit shows for numerous other broadcasters, including Channel 4, National Geographic, Discovery and Channel 5.
Karen’s work currently spans many shows and genres, from one-off documentaries to big entertainment quiz brands such as Countdown and University Challenge, as well as clip series, including Alright On The Night and You’ve Been Framed.
Lauren Evans
Talent Executive
From an early age, Lauren always had a keen interest in entertainment, which began whilst studying Musical Theatre & Media Studies at the BRIT School of Performing Arts.
Continuing her studies at Sussex University and graduating with a degree in Media Practice & Theory, Lauren started her television career as a runner at Thames Television on a number of entertainment formats.
Over her 15 year freelance career, Lauren worked as a Casting, Edit and Gallery Producer. She enjoyed working across many entertainment shows including, Take Me Out, Family Fortunes, Britain’s Got Talent, Big Brother, The Great Pottery Throwdown, The Ranganation, The Circle, and Love Island.
Always having an interest in finding and nurturing talent, Lauren decided to switch to work in Talent Management in August 2019.
With a genuine passion for finding new and diverse talent for the industry, Lauren oversees a number of outreach projects for the Talent Team. She is an active RTS committee member and mentor, which enables her to keep up to date with new talent and stay connected with many Industry professionals.
Kenny England
Head of Creative Branding & Digital
Kenny joined Lifted Entertainment at the end of 2022 in their newly created Head of Creative Branding and Digital position.
Kenny started his career in the radio industry creating radio shows for BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Asian Network & 6music. Whilst working in radio he produced social media content to support the shows eventually landing his first opportunity to work in social media on The X Factor in 2014.
From there he went on to work with a social media agency on shows such as I’m A Celebrity, First Dates & Saturday Night Takeaway before becoming staff at ITV Network. On joining he was heavily involved at the very beginning of Love Island, designing its look and feel whilst developing a brand new social media strategy which is still used today.
Since then he went freelance for a brief period to work on The Circle for Channel 4, Love Island USA for CBS & Love Island France for Prime Video. His last role before joining Lifted Entertainment was as Head of Digital Creative for BBC Studios looking after their BBC Comedy output and Top Gear.
Work With Us
Lifted Entertainment has an established reputation for making some of the most successful, groundbreaking and must-see TV shows that are watched by millions every week.
And to maintain those standards of excellence we continually endeavour to work with the most creative and accomplished talent at all levels who share our love, dedication and vision for making the best and most talked about TV shows, which can often captivate an entire nation.
With talent management teams in London and Media City, Salford, we are incredibly proud of our dynamic and inclusive working culture and are dedicated to ensuring that our teams of programme makers accurately mirror the true diversity of the audiences who tune into our shows. We are fully committed to creating an environment where everyone feels welcome and can bring their whole self to work.
We want everyone who works with us at Lifted Entertainment to be the very best they can be at what they do.
We are also very passionate about nurturing new talent and helping start careers in Entertainment, so if you are interested in work experience please email [email protected] for London and [email protected] for Manchester.
Lifted Entertainment uses The Talent Manager to source new talent and to advertise all our roles.
You can also send us your CV to [email protected] for London and [email protected] for Manchester.
