BFI Chair Jay Hunt Riffs With Claudia Winkleman on U.K. Film and TV Success: “We Are Unmatched”
Late Wednesday afternoon at a BFI London Film Festival event, beloved British presenter Claudia Winkleman began the session by quoting The Hollywood Reporter.
“For one of the most influential, respected and, yes, powerful executives in international TV,” The Traitors host said, reading out from THR’s newly-released list of the most powerful women in international television, “Jay Hunt keeps a remarkably low profile, rarely giving interviews and keeping public appearances to a minimum.”
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Winkleman, best known for her presenting duties on U.K. reality show staple Strictly Come Dancing, spoke with her friend, British Film Institute chair and Apple TV+ European creative director Hunt, about the exec’s vibrant, impressive career — and why this country’s film and TV industry is doing it better than anywhere else.
“We are unmatched in the world for what we do in this space,” Hunt told Winkleman. “I mean literally unmatched. To sit at the Emmys this year” [where AppleTV+ hit Slow Horses took home the best writing for a drama series award], “or the Oscars a couple of years ago and just hear British accent after British accent walking up on stage. That’s what we did… I just want to keep doing something that fuels that, because this is really precious.”
Winkleman and Hunt took the audience through the native Australian’s illustrious career, from director of programs at Channel 5 and controller at BBC One, to chief creative officer at Channel 4. She was appointed BFI chair in February this year.
“I know this sounds schmaltzy,” Hunt said of accepting the role. “I think great film and television can change the world. I genuinely believe that. So being back connected with an organization with that public service remit is an incredibly important thing.”
At Channel 4, Hunt oversaw the commissioning of U.K. hits such as Gogglebox and Derry Girls. While at BBC One, she made Sherlock and Luther happen. She took a moment to highlight the need for diversification in the industry among its staff and output. “This is kind of terrible name drop, but Idris [Elba, star of Luther] called me just as I was on my way here, and he’s someone I maintain a very close relationship [with]. But when we put him as the lead on Luther it was the first time there was a Black lead on BBC One. And that’s extraordinary.”
“So you go into people’s homes, and you change the way they think about the country that they live in,” Hunt continued. “It’s profoundly important that we find a way, particularly in quite a divided society, that communities across the U.K. see themselves on screen and see their stories on screen, and we know it’s utterly game-changing.”
As for what’s next for her, Hunt spoke positively and confidently about continuing to support creativity in the U.K. “I think what the BFI is trying to do… is to find that kind of life cycle where we can connect with people early on, with their relationship with film and screen, and grow them through those different stages until they have the confidence to kind of fly.”
The spotlight conversation was the last of the BFI London Film Festival’s industry program. The fest runs from Oct. 9-20.
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