Our Team
Rachel Springett
Founder
Rachel is a multi BAFTA award winning commissioner, TV and film producer.
In Rachel’s twenty year career as a comedy commissioner and producer Rachel focused on nurturing and bringing through new talent, predominantly women and diverse writer/performers.
Rachel is passionate about talent and has a track record of being ahead of the curve and spotting the next generation of writers and performers.
During Rachel’s six years as a commissioner at Channel 4 she won multiple BAFTA’s, Rose D’or, RTS, Broadcast Awards, Broadcast Digital Awards and a Comedy Award.
Rachel commissioned first time series from first time writers Phoebe Waller Bridge: CRASHING, Michaela Coel: CHEWING GUM, Nida Manzoor: WE ARE LADY PARTS, Mae Martin: FEEL GOOD, Jon Brown: DEAD PIXELS, OT Fagbenle: MAXXX.
Many of these projects became multi award, BAFTA winning shows and some of the names Rachel first discovered have gone on to become some of the UK’s most in demand new talent on the global stage with big budget shows for HBO, Marvel and Netflix.
Rachel also commissioned some of the UK’s leading writers and performers from Matt Berry’s BAFTA winning TOAST OF LONDON, Sharon Horgan and Denis Kelly’s THE CIRCUIT, Charlie Brooker’s multi award winning BLACK MIRROR Christmas special and Julia Davis’ MORNING HAS BROKEN.
Before leaving Channel 4 Rachel spent two years working with Film4 exec producing the feature film THE FESTIVAL, directed by Iain Morris co-writer of The Inbetweeners.
Prior to Channel 4 Rachel spent three years at Objective Productions where she produced TOAST OF LONDON, two series of MEET THE PARENTS and PEEP SHOW.
Before this Rachel spent four years at Iain Morris and Damon Beesley’s Bwark Productions where she produced two series of the first comedy radio show for Channel 4, featuring Ricky Gervais.
Brian Birigwa
Development Producer
Brian Birigwa is a writer/filmmaker whose first taste of the industry came as a trainee writer on The Javone Prince Show. Brian thereafter worked across both scripted and unscripted for several years.
It was after meeting Rachel Springett while she was still at Channel 4, that his career got catapulted. Rachel recommended Brian study Comedy Writing and Producing at the National Film and Television School. The course not only helped hone and refine his craft but also sparked a passion for directing and producing. Brian wrote and directed a short film/pilot called ‘BLIND DATE’ for his graduate thesis. Since completing his diploma, Brian’s focus has been to develop his projects. Leveraging the relationships he has established with production companies, he has pitched several TV shows. All while being a Channel 4 commissioner mentee.
Brian won the 2021 Amplified Grand Champion award with a short called “I’m All Fine Now”. A project currently in development with Maia Pictures.
Brian has previously worked at Daniel Kaluuya’s production company 59% where he contributed to stories in the writers room for scripted shows.
Damian Keogh
CEO (Story Collective)
Damian was most recently Managing Director at Lookout Point, where he was responsible for driving the commercial operations, strategic development and growth of the company. He left Lookout Point after a period of significant growth, with several newly greenlit returnable drama series, and a successful diversification into comedy. Prior to Lookout Point, Damian was Head of Drama at BBC Worldwide. He started his television career as a freelance producer with Flying Pictures and Pearson, where he worked on big factual and entertainment productions. Damian then founded and ran Skyworks, an independent production company making factual series for major UK and international broadcasters.
At Maia Pictures we are also facilitated and co-produced by our colleagues at The Story Collective and their parent company FIFTH SEASON. Here are the primary people we collaborate with at The Story Collective to help bring our work to the screen.
Simon Vaughan
Co-Chair (Story Collective)
Starting out as a child actor in BBC’s Grange Hill, Simon has since performed a wide range of roles in the Film and TV industry, including executive producer, producer, distributor, financier, writer and lyricist. Working between the UK and the US since the early 90’s, Simon has founded and run a number of content ventures including Alchemy Television and Lookout Point -the later being sold to the BBC in 2019 -before forming The Story Collective. Productions include Les Misérables, War & Peace, Ripper Street, Gentleman Jack, Ben Hur, Goodbye Christopher Robin and the upcoming A Thousand Blows for Disney +.
Amy Mobley
Head of Production (Story Collective)
Amy joined The Story Collective in May 2022 as Head Of Production and oversees all areas of production from development through to final delivery. Most recently Amy spent 3 years as Head of Production at Euston Films and prior to that 5 years as Production Executive for Tiger Aspect Productions. Her list of credits has included Peaky Blinders, Ripper Street, Fortitude, My Mad Fat Diary, Decline and Fall, Good Karma Hospital, Dublin Murders, Bagdad Central, and Wreck. Before going in house Amy spent 10 years working in freelance Production across a variety of HETV and Film productions.
Helen Jackson
Co-Chair (Story Collective)
Helen’s 31-year career at the BBC culminated in her being appointed to Chief Content Officer. During her tenure, Helen established and built BBC Worldwide’s indie production business and positioned the company as the first-choice home for content makers for many years. She was an integral part of success stories including Left Bank, Big Talk, Baby Cow, Clerkenwell, Drama Republic and Lookout Point. She also oversaw the company’s £180 million plus programming fund, investing behind the creative development and production of hundreds of hours of content annually, including Sherlock, Doctor Foster and Gentleman Jack.
Natasha Neill
CFO (Story Collective)
Natasha joined The Story Collective in June 2022 as CFO where she oversees all financial aspects of the company. Prior to The Story Collective Natasha was the Finance Director at Lookout Point for 4 years and was responsible for the financial management and reporting across a range of high end TV drama titles including Gentleman Jack, Happy Valley and A Suitable Boy. Natasha has spent more than 15 years working in the media industry with other Head of Finance roles in Film and TV Production at Entertainment One and Shine TV. Before moving into the TV industry, Natasha qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant whilst working at Tottenham Hotspur.
Sara Durante
Operations Director (Story Collective)
Director of Operations and all rounder with 15 years of experience in film and TV in Europe and the US. Sara has worked in a variety of roles, including film production and development, and most recently spent four years heading business operations at Lookout Point, working closely with the commercial and marketing teams on high-profile projects, including Gentleman Jack, Les Misérables, Press and A Suitable Boy.
Elouise West
Head of Commercial, Legal & Business Affairs (Story Collective)
Elouise joined The Story Collective in January 2023 to oversee all areas of legal and business affairs across production, development and partnerships. Elouise previously worked at New Pictures as Head of Legal & Business Affairs where she advised on a range of productions in development, production and distribution. Prior to New Pictures, Elouise worked in production with Euston Films and at PACT, advising indies and studios on the application of broadcaster Terms of Trade and Collective Bargaining Agreements in TV and Film. Her credits include The Blue, The Long Shadow, Dalgliesh 1&2, Champion, Des, Cobra 2, The Spanish Princess 2, The Deceived, Dublin Murders and Baghdad Central.