About Us
What We Do
At Lifted Entertainment we create and produce some of the world’s most successful, unscripted formats. Our homegrown, global hits include Love Island, I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! & Hell’s Kitchen.
Each year we produce up to 500 hours of television for the UK, ranging from huge entertainment events like The Voice & Dancing on Ice through quiz shows such as Countdown and University Challenge, to music performance shows ITV Studio Sessions.
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.
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.
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.
Alexia Antoniou
Production Executive
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
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. 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 which enables her to keep up to date with new talent and stay connected with many Industry professionals.
Franky Harte
Head of Digital
Franky’s journey in television began in Ireland, where he worked as a Runner and Production Assistant for TV3 (Virgin Media Television) and RTÉ. It was here that he honed his production skills before transitioning into digital, taking on the challenge of developing and producing the digital content strategy for First Dates Ireland in 2015.
In 2017, Franky moved to the UK, where he has since shaped the digital presence of some of the nation’s most popular entertainment shows. His portfolio includes Gogglebox, The Circle, Made in Chelsea, and, most recently, Lifted Entertainment’s flagship brands, where he has led the charge on the digital strategies for Love Island and I’m A Celebrity.
Appointed as Head of Digital at Lifted Entertainment in January 2025, Franky now oversees the digital strategy and production across our brand portfolio. His work includes delivering innovative original content, such as the visualised podcast Love Island: The Morning After, bringing audiences closer to their favourite shows in new ways.
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.
Current Vacancies
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Casting Researcher
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Gallery/Story Producers
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Challenge AP
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Interview Producer
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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 itvworkexperience@itv.com for London and itvtalentnorth@itv.com 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 talent@liftedentertainment.com for London and northerntalent@liftedentertainment.com for Manchester.