Charlie Parsons

Charlie Parsons has had a huge, positive impact on the international media sector over the last 15 years and changed the face of television with his creative hits, The Word, The Big Breakfast and the Emmy winning Survivor, with seven prime time awards. As co-founder of one of television's most influential production companies Planet 24, with Bob Geldof and Waheed Alli, he created and produced hundreds of groundbreaking TV programmes including The Big Breakfast and The Word. Planet 24, (co-founded with Lord Waheed Alli and Bob Geldof) was an engine for change in British media and his television shows were a platform for many household names to make their reputations including Chris Evans, Gaby Roslin, Lisa Tarbuck, Johnny Vaughan, and Denise Van Outen. He brought the first reality show to television screens with Survivor, which is shown in over 20 editions in countries around the world. In the US, it has just had its 32nd series on CBS and it still leads its time slot. Charlie is its Creator and Executive Producer and his former company Castaway Television Productions licenses the show to production companies around the world. Survivor is one of the world's top TV shows, a huge hit internationally and continues to create punchy headlines with its originality and win awards globally. Charlie also develops and produces shows for the stage - Never Forget, a musical with the songs of Take That, has been followed by a highly acclaimed production of Guys and Dolls, which started at the Chichester Festival theatre, as well as In the Heights, which won three Olivier awards, and Guys and Dolls, which started at Chichester Festival Theatre. Charlie founded The Great BBC Campaign, set up to provide a bold ambitious new mandate for the BBC, designed to build on the success of the impartial and independent broadcasting organisation. Before setting up Planet 24, Charlie studied English at Pembroke College, Oxford and trained as a journalist. He worked at London Weekend Television on programmes including Network 7, which won a BAFTA award for originality. Trained as a journalist, he occasionally contributes to the BBC, Guardian and the Financial Times. He is a patron of the London Film School.