Philippa Collie Cousins steps down as Directors UK Vice-Chair and Wales Rep

We would like to bid a fond farewell to director Philippa Collie Cousins, who has made the decision to step down as Vice-Chair of the Directors UK Board and as our Nations and Regions Representative for Wales.

Philippa is stepping down to take up an exciting new position as the first dedicated drama commissioner at UKTV.  

Philippa is a BAFTA-winning director and producer, whose director credits include The Deadness of Dad, Happy Now and Car Boot Sale. She has also worked on projects including Sherlock, Warsaw Spies, Robin Hood, Spooks and Small Island.

She has served on the Directors UK Board for five years and been elected as the Nations and Regions Representative for Wales on two occasions. She was appointed Board Vice-Chair in July last year.

We all wish Philippa the best as she takes this next step in her career.

We will be asking members to put themselves forward to stand as the next Nations and Regions Representative for Wales in the very near future.

Philippa has written this message to members:

“Running round the sand dunes in South Wales with a super 8mm camera made me want to be a director. But seeing my father start a hospice so that cancer sufferers could have dignity in death, starting out in a small terraced house that then grew into a National Hospital in Wales – that made me want to step up in my profession and do what I could to give back.

“Directors UK is special. It is our professional organisation to make our working lives better. I have been on the Board for five years and helped to devise partnerships, campaigns, idea-sharing forums in Europe, and the regional strategy for Wales. As Vice-Chair, I have enjoyed a closer relationship with the senior team and set up our charity offshoot, the Directors Charitable Foundation, which has recently started Directors in Schools, a scheme that aims to inspire disadvantaged young people to become directors.

“Next month, I will start a new job as a drama commissioner and although I will stay centrally involved with the Directors Charitable Foundation, I have resigned from the Directors UK Board as I can no longer give it the time it deserves.

“Ask yourself ‘if not me, who?’, and just stand for the Board. You will be surprised how it stretches and develops you. I hope the person who follows me is much better than me, has newer ideas and better contacts because Directors UK needs you and you need Directors UK.”

Directors UK Chair Steve Smith has this to say about Philippa’s time on the Board:

“On behalf of the Board and staff at Directors UK, I want to thank Philippa for her dedication, hard work and outstanding service to Directors UK over the past five years.

“Philippa deserves so much credit for working so effectively to represent the interests of Welsh directors, including organising a number of special events in Wales, most recently our presence at the BAFTA Guru Live event in Cardiff.

“It’s been an enormous pleasure and privilege to work closely with Philippa over the past year as a Vice-Chair, and I want to thank her personally for the support she have given to me and the management team, bringing so much energy and enthusiasm to meetings, offering unique insights and perspectives. She will be sorely missed on the Board, and I hope that she can continue to play an active role within Directors UK in the years ahead.

“I want to take this opportunity of wishing her all the best as she takes up her new position at UKTV. I know Philippa will be a fantastic drama commissioning editor, with the prospect of developing many exciting projects and giving new opportunities to British writers and directors. It’s so refreshing that a broadcaster will have a director-friendly commissioning editor, who really understands the role of a director and all that directors can bring to any production.”