Nazleen Karim

The executive producer and series producer of E4's reality drama Made in Chelsea go behind the scenes and explore how they keep the series authentic.

Nazleen Karim and Joe Street discuss what it's like to produce Made in Chelsea on the ground and whether there’s a scripting process.

Series producer Joe says: “We have a casting producer but that person’s mainly speaking to our cast about who is in their lives, who they’re dating, new friends that they’ve met and we kind of go from there really and speak to those people. It’s an organic process, when the time feels right, when there’s a space or when the story is organic, we bring those people in.”

They also talk about the importance of shooting style, exploring the more intimate and personal issues in the cast's lives and breaking the fourth wall.

About the speakers

Executive producer Nazleen Karim oversees Made in Chelsea, where she gets to indulge in her passions for storytelling and beautiful visuals. She started her career at the BBC working on big entertainment shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and has gone on to the post-production of shows such as The Only Way is Essex and E4’s Body Fixers.

Joe Street, series producer, has worked on Made in Chelsea since it’s very beginning in 2011, growing up alongside the cast. He has also worked on Celebrity Big Brother, Ex on The Beach and Naomi Campbell’s The Face.

About the event

This is a recording of an online event that took place on 7 July 2020. The event as 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’s part of a ScreenSkills programme managed by the Indie Training Fund to support freelancers to upskill and stay connected, helping keep the industry resilient in the coronavirus pandemic.

Careers information

If you are interested in a career in unscripted TV, go to ScreenSkills unscripted TV job profiles.