Natalie Rose

The team behind Big Zuu's Big Eats talk about being inspired by a musician's cookery video on YouTube and developing it into a TV series.

Alex Gilman, series producer, Rohan Minhas, assistant producer (AP) and Natalie Rose, commissioning editor UKTV, talk about the making of the TV show Big Zuu's Big Eats. They explain how it was important to keep the tone of the show like the personality that inspired it. They also reveal how much they enjoyed marrying food with comedy at each aspect of the production, from development to edit.

Questions they answer include:

  • 0:38 - Where did the idea for the show come from?
  • 6:44 - Stylistically, how did you develop the show?
  • 12:07 - Is it hard work on a show like this to juggle the new talent, the music, the food, and the comedy?
  • 15:08 - How long does it take, and how many people does it take to make a show like this?
  • 18:07 - As a commissioner and as producers, are you always on the lookout for new talent?
  • 21:42 - How fresh and new for the channel was Big Zuu's Big Eats? Was commissioning shows like this part of a strategy?
  • 23:53 - In terms of making the show, what was the best part of it and what was the most fun thing?
  • 27:43 - Going into the second series, what are you changing and what did you learn from the first series that you're carrying over?
  • 32:04 - How do you make a cookery show during Covid-19; what steps do you have to take?
  • 35:54 - Do you have any tips for getting into this genre and industry and what do you look for?
  • 38:19 - Do you have advice on how to best approach a production company? And do you take commissions from individuals, or only from production companies?
  • 41:38 - How did you become a commissioner?

About the speakers

Alex Gilman worked as an AP before moving on to work as a producer. He is currently a series producer for Boomerang, which is part of Twofour Group. Some of the shows he's worked on are: 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4), The Ranganation (BBC Two) and Rosie Jones Shorts - Comedy Blaps (Channel 4).

Rohan Minhas started working in the unscripted TV industry in 2018. He was part of the production team of 24 Hours in Police Custody (Channel 4). He now works as an AP on Big Zuu's Big Eats after being a key part of the development team.

Natalie Rose is the commissioning editor of UKTV and commissioned Big Zuu's Big Eats for Dave. She specialises in factual and factual entertainment TV. Natalie joined UKTV in 2017.

About the event

This is a recording of an online event that took place on 30 October 2020. It was supported by the ScreenSkills Television Skills Fund which invests in training for the freelance television workforce thanks to contributions from the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5. It was introduced by ScreenSkills training producer, Philip McCreery. It's part of a ScreenSkills programme managed by the Indie Training Fund to support freelancers to upskill and stay connected, helping to keep the industry resilient during Covid-19.

Further careers information

Check out our unscripted TV job profiles.