Surviving Development: A guide to creative and personal resilience

You’re working in unscripted development - It’s a tough market and it’s hard to get meetings, feedback and, most of all, commissions. What’s worse is that the pressure to thrive can be creatively stifling. 

Surviving Development offers a half day reset and a resilience toolkit to make success in 2026 that little bit more achievable.

Development is fast, relentless, often thankless – and right now, tougher than ever. This session offers real tools, fresh perspective, and an honest space to reflect on what working in development feels like in 2026. We’ll explore the emotional and cultural pressures of the job, and the systems around it – boom-and-bust cycles, ghosting, solo working, and the unsettling sense that even success can feel hollow.

This course acknowledges the reality – and offers a mix of reflection, shared experience, and practical tools to help development teams stay resilient, connected, and creatively vibrant.

This training programme is funded by the Screen Skills Unscripted TV Skills Fund which invests in training for the unscripted workforce thanks to contributions from broadcasters, SVoDs and production companies. 

Who it's for

Anyone working in unscripted development, from researchers to execs.

We welcome applications from under-represented groups, including, but not limited to those from Minority Ethnic Groups; those with a disability; people from the LGBTQ+ community and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. 

Our training is inclusive and if you have any needs which we can accommodate please let us know and we will be happy to work with you to meet them.

What it covers

Delivered with humour and candour, the session will include:

• Examination of the specific yet collective pressures that we all face – recognising those which are practical and those which are emotional.
• A space for personal stories which reflect those pressures with real world examples.
• Specific techniques to build resilience and cope with each area.
• Working through a TV Development Resilience toolkit to help delegates stay confident, creative and motivated. A takeaway resource designed to be used whenever they feel destabilised.

Tutors:

Anna Blue and Will Spokes

Will and Anna met 26 years ago as Researchers on The Big Breakfast. No training, no handover - just two hours of live TV every morning in one of the most chaotic, high-pressure environments imaginable.

Since then, they’ve each built 27-year careers as entertainment creatives and development consultants, shaping, selling and producing some of the UK’s best-known unscripted formats - from genre-defining hits to inventive digital-first experiments.

Their credits include The Fortune Hotel, The Mash Report, Life Stripped Bare, You’re Back in the Room, Got to Dance, Push the Button, Saturday Night Takeaway, Taxi of Mum and Dad, and The Big Jubilee Street Party.

They still work actively in the industry, both as freelance Execs and Creative Consultants - so everything they teach is grounded in what’s really happening in telly right now.

How to apply

Click “Apply now” at the top of the page and follow the instructions. You must login or register before you are able to complete your application. Please only apply for one date, in the location that is easiest for you to attend.

There are bursaries available for those who require additional support. Please contact info@televisedminds.com for any enquiries about these bursaries before or at the same time as submitting your application.

If you need additional support to complete your application or require the application form in an alternative format, please contact USF@screenskills.com

Judging information

Applications will be judged by Televised Minds and are based on how relevant we feel the course would be for your job role. We aim to let all applicants know whether they have been successful within two weeks of the application closing date. 

Key Dates:

Manchester

• 22nd April 9am-12pm

Or

• 22nd April 1pm-4pm

Application deadline: 6th April

Bristol

• 29th April 9am-12pm

Or

• 29th April 1pm-4pm

Application deadline: 7th April