Former Sky and Mentorn Media exec Celia Taylor has joined a fledgling indie formed by Desmond’s creator Trix Worrell.
Worrell and his brother Sean established “writer-led multimedia production company” Distant Voices Group in February with a declared “mission to unlock the potential of the creative voice”.
According to Broadcast, Taylor, a former Sky unscripted chief who stood down as Mentorn managing director in November last year, initially helped in a consultancy role before joining the brothers full time.
Distant Voices is based in Hastings and Stevenage and plans to be active across unscripted, scripted and digital, with an ambition to find mainstream content featuring new and diverse talent.
Its first commission, ITV comedy special Lost Voice Guy’s Christmas Comedy Showcase, will air in December.
Taylor told Broadcast: “It’s important that underrepresented voices and new voices don’t just mean young voices – there are many people out there who have been trying for years and haven’t had a break.”
She said Distant Voices is working with an unnamed black young adult author who has yet to find a break in TV.
Trix Worrell’s groundbreaking Channel 4 sitcom Desmond’s began in 1988 and ran for seven years; he also created spin-off Pork Pie.
He has also run transatlantic film and TV company Wicked Films and is a visiting lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire. He received a Royal Television Society lifetime achievement award in 2005.
Sean’s background is in digital media at companies including Discovery, E!, MTV, Universal and Google.
