Freya Judd and Anya Wilson named as a Broadcast 2023 Hot Shots

We’re thrilled to announce that Freya Judd and Anya Wilson have today been named two of Broadcast’s Hot Shots of 2023, in the development producers group.

Congratulations Freya and Anya!

Here is what was said on the Broadcast website about Freya:

“Freya is undoubtedly one of the most talented creatives I have worked with,” says Big Talk Studios executive producer Victoria Grew. “Her precision on story and character arcs is second to none, supported by her voracious appetite to read and consume all forms of media.”

Judd’s career has been cross-disciplinary, with roles in the commercial, development and production fields, driven by a desire to skill up in every part of the process.

She started out in theatre, working for writer-centred theatre company HighTide and West End producer Kenny Wax, before moving on to join talent management agency Curtis Brown as an agent’s assistant in the theatre, film and television department.

This gave her a thorough grounding in the commercial and legal side of the TV industry as she negotiated contracts and financial deals. She also worked with high-profile writers such as Adam Kay and Sarah Solemani.

In early 2020, Judd made the jump to Big Talk to work as a development producer in the comedy team, where she cut her teeth by supporting the scripting process for series one of Steve Stamp and Ben Murray’s BBC Three comedy about a personal trainer, Peacock.

Grew notes that Judd has a particular knack for building relationships with the writers with whom she works – perhaps that’s not surprising, since she’s also an acclaimed writer in her own right. In 2022, she won the Edinburgh TV Festival New Voices Award for her comedy pilot, which is currently in development with Objective Fiction.

In the past year, Judd’s career as a development producer has galloped forward, with a role script editing Horseface (working title), a major action-adventure comedy series for Apple TV+ about Dick Turpin. The massive production features the cream of British comedy talent, including Noel Fielding, Hugh Bonneville, Guz Khan, Ellie White, Asim Chaudhry and Tamsin Greig.

Big Talk chief executive Kenton Allen says: “From the writers’ room to pre-production and throughout shooting, Freya has been an integral part of the editorial team, helping to craft the characters and stories, supporting their realisation on-screen, and responding with imagination and flexibility to changing production requirements.”

Her next projects include working with an Emmy and Bafta award-winning writer on an adaptation of a comic Dickens novel, and a nostalgic comedy by Richard Naylor, which is currently in paid development with Apple TV+.

As a writer, Judd is also currently working on an adaptation of a series of romance novels.

“Freya is a very clever, articulate person who works incredibly hard at her craft,” Grew says.

“When the chips are down, Freya is someone you can rely on to be inventive and entrepreneurial in her approach to a script.

“Writers love working with her and she will only grow to become a force within the industry.”

And here is what was said on the Broadcast website about Anya:

Within seven years of coming to Big Talk on a two-week internship, Anya Wilson is now development producer and script editor on two of the indie’s highest-profile projects to date: BBC One comedy-drama Ludwig, and the debut feature from Rev. and The Great director James Wood, currently in development at Film 4.

Starting as an executive assistant to Big Talk chiefs Kenton Allen and Matthew Justice, Wilson impressed with her “confidence, attention to detail and clarity of purpose”, says Big Talk Studios drama exec Luke Alkin.

Moving to the drama team as a development exec, Wilson brought clear and insightful analysis to scripts and honed her story producing skills in many writers’ rooms.

Subsequently working as a script editor and now a drama development producer, she has been busy optioning IP, working up pitches and taking projects out to market. She is committed to building strong relationships with new and established writers through initiatives such as Bafta Connect.

Among her growing slate of comedies and dramas, including active developments at Sky and ITV Studios, is an adaptation of a Danish movie.

“Ambitious and clear in her understanding of what commissioners are looking for, while appreciating the constraints of making a show in the current climate, Anya is uniquely placed to influence great change in the industry with powerful stories, while bringing different voices to the fore,” says Alkin.