Press Release

Friday 27 June 2025

Three directors from the regions of England have been selected for ScreenSkills High-end TV Regional New Directors Champion Programme, in association with Directors UK. This programme is supported by the ScreenSkills’ High-end TV Skills Fund with contributions from UK high-end TV productions.

Emma Roxburgh (based in the North East), Meng Han Hsieh (based in the North West) and Owen Tooth (based in the Midlands) have been paired with experienced High-end TV directors who, over the course of 12-18 months, will offer guidance and support to help them progress their careers and break into High-end TV.

Emma will be partnered with John Alexander (Sense and Sensibility, Small Island), Meng with Claire Tailyour (The Wives, Phoenix Rise) and Owen with Khurrum Sultan (McDonald & Dodds, Shakespeare & Hathaway).

Following a successful bid to ScreenSkills’ High-end TV Skills Fund, with contributions from UK High-end TV productions, Directors UK has been selected to deliver the programme which aims to promote more talent development from the English regions outside of London. 

Directors UK Head of Career Development and Skills Andrea Corbett said: “We know that mid-level directors moving into High-end TV need focused support and professional guidance, and it’s important that they get that within the regions where they live and work.  We are delighted to be collaborating again with our partners and funders, the ScreenSkills High-end TV  Skills Fund, and we look forward to watching these directors progress this year and beyond.”

ScreenSkills’ Senior HETV Training Liaison Manager Jacqui Taunton Fenton said: “Ensuring the next generation of directing talent has the support, guidance and opportunity to take that vital next step is at the heart of this programme. It’s specifically designed to provide those key ingredients and offer these three new directors with the tools they need to progress. We’re thrilled to welcome them onto the programme and to be working with Directors UK who share the Fund’s commitment to creating opportunities to those across the whole of the UK.”

About Directors UK

Directors UK is the professional association of UK screen directors. It is a membership organisation representing the creative, economic and contractual interests of over 8,500 members – the majority of working TV and film directors in the UK. Directors UK negotiates rights deals and collects and distributes royalties to its members. It also campaigns and lobbies on its members’ behalf and provides a range of services including legal advice, events and career development. Directors UK works closely with fellow organisations around the world to represent directors’ rights and concerns, promotes excellence in the craft of direction and champions change to the current landscape to create an equal opportunity industry for all.

About ScreenSkills

ScreenSkills is the industry-led skills body for the UK’s screen industries – animation, film, games, television including children’s TV, unscripted and high-end, and VFX. We work across the whole of the country to ensure that UK screen has access now, and in the future, to the skills and talent needed for continued success.

For over a decade, The ScreenSkills High- End TV (HETV) Skills Fund has been working hand in hand with the industry to support and develop the TV workforce. The fund directs investment where it is most needed and these decisions are shaped by the senior HETV industry professionals who make up the Fund’s Skills Council and Working Groups. 

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For more information about Directors UK, please contact:

Charlie Coombes, Head of PR and Corporate Communications
+44 (0)20 7845 9707 | +44 (0)7723 183 606 | [email protected]

About Directors UK

Directors UK is the professional association of UK screen directors. It is a membership organisation representing the creative, economic and contractual interests of over 8,500 members – the majority of working TV and film directors in the UK. Directors UK negotiates rights deals and collects and distributes royalties to its members. It also campaigns and lobbies on its members’ behalf and provides a range of services including legal advice, events and career development. Directors UK works closely with fellow organisations around the world to represent directors’ rights and concerns, promotes excellence in the craft of direction and champions change to the current landscape to create an equal opportunity industry for all.