Variety’s First Women’s Impact Report U.K. Celebrates Talent From on the Set to the Stage to the C-Suite

• Marisa Abela

  

  Actor

  “Industry” has catapulted several fresh faces into the mainstream, but none more so than Abela, whose BAFTA-winning turn as troubled heiress Yasmin in the wild, buzzy and water cooler show she hails for being “experimental, unselfconscious and unburdened by expectation,” has shot her to the top of casting lists. “From the inside, it hasn’t felt sudden at all,” says the star, who has since landed roles in “Back to Black” (playing Amy Winehouse), Steven Soderbergh’s “Black Bag” and the upcoming “Highlander” reboot. “Maybe it’s like aging or gaining weight: you don’t really notice yourself changing until you’re confronted with a high school photo or a pair of jeans you used to wear.” Next up for Abela is the fifth and final season of the series that made her name. “I can’t wait to work with everyone again and give it the send-off it deserves.”

  Personal motto: “I was once talking with a great friend of mine about boring acting choices in film. He was saying there was a lack of ‘big swings,’ and I said, ‘Oh, I’ll swing, bitch.’ And ever since then, that kind of became my mantra: I’ll swing, bitch.”

• Dolly Alderton

  

  Author

  Alderton first burst onto the British literary scene in 2018 with memoir “Everything I Know About Love,” which has become a sort of bible for 20-something women worldwide and led to a BBC/Peacock series adaptation penned by her. More recently, Alderton has been dabbling in fiction — she released her first novel, “Good Material,” in 2023 and wrote the highly anticipated Netflix “Pride & Prejudice” series starring Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden. Alderton describes the adaptation as “faithful but fresh” and hopes it will catch the attention of a new generation. “We wanted to capture that perfect Austen balance of emotion and humor; warmth and truth,” she says.

  In my next life, I want to be: “A caterer. Wanting to write and wanting to cook aren’t hugely dissimilar — I want to fill people with something, whether it’s jokes or roast potatoes,” she says.

• Rebecca Allen

  

  Chief artist and strategy officer, Universal Music Group

  Allen’s 25-plus years with UMG have been so distinguished that the company created her current role for her. Over the years, she has played a key role in UMG’s relationships with artists from Elton John and Andrea Bocelli to Olivia Dean. She joined the company in 1999 as a press assistant and has risen through the ranks to leadership roles at the company’s EMI, Decca labels and its strategic artist management strategy division, and is the only executive to chair both the Classic Brit and Brit Awards.

• Emma Banks

  

  Music agent/co-head of global touring, CAA

  With a roster that includes Green Day, Katy Perry, Muse, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Florence + the Machine and Kylie Minogue, Banks has long been one of the U.K.’s top agents. She began her agency career in 1990 at Wasted Talent, ultimately rising to managing director before joining CAA in 2006. She was honored twice by the U.K.’s Woman of the Year Awards for the music industry, winning the Special Achievement Award in 1997 and Woman of the Year in 2007, and has been named Pollstar’s International Agent of the Year Award on multiple occasions.

• Victoria Beckham

  

  Entrepreneur

  Beckham might be known for being posh, but it’s persistence that’s kept her in the spotlight for more than three decades. The pop culture icon is at her most candid in the three-part Netflix documentary “Victoria Beckham,” which chronicled her rollercoaster ride from Spice Girl superstardom to navigating life as a paparazzi-hunted WAG, then wresting back control of the narrative by building her eponymous fashion brand. The docuseries offered insight into how much Beckham cares about her craft and set the stage for her next steps as a fashion designer, including a first-ever co-designed collection with Gap.

• Clare Binns

  

  Creative director, Picturehouse Cinemas, Picturehouse Entertainment

  The high point for Binns in the past year was being awarded a BAFTA for her contribution to U.K. cinema. She felt “humbled,” she says, adding, “BAFTA gave me the best time ever.” Among challenges, she says there were “not enough original films being made and at the end of the day we need lots of good films.” She adds, “It was a hard year, on top of a few difficult years since COVID, but we dug deep and got through it. This year looking brighter and Cannes is looking very strong as well. I am feeling very positive this year.” What does the coming year hold? “Making sure that we are consolidating what we are good at, cinemas that put films and customers first. While looking for opportunities and partnerships that will help Picturehouse and the industry prosper.” She adds that in her new role of creative director at Picturehouse, “I am focusing on relationships as well as developing some exciting new projects that are very Picturehouse and will be something new for audiences… watch this space!”

  Personal motto: “Be kind and generous to others and always be prepared to take a risk and stick to your guns if you have that ‘gut’ feeling.”

• Hannah Blyth

  

  Head of content acquisition TV, Prime Video U.K.

  “Molly-Mae: Behind It All” became the most-watched series on Prime Video among women aged 18-34 in the U.K. last year — an achievement that validated Blyth’s conviction that local British talent can genuinely move the needle for a global streaming service. The success gave the team the confidence and momentum to move fast, delivering two seasons within a single year, and directly informed a broader program of talent-led docuseries, with “Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix” a direct result of that blueprint. Blyth has also pushed for earlier involvement in a show’s lifecycle — a model shift that required, she says, “a real shift in mindset and a strong internal case” — and has since built a slate featuring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Martin Compston, Anna Kendrick, Sam Heughan, Sam Claflin, Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore. Titles including “The Assassin,” “Kill Jackie,” “Vanished” and “Embassy” are evidence, she says, of a model that works — and one she intends to keep building on.

• Jessie Buckley

  

  Actor

  Buckley dominated the 2025-26 awards season, taking home the Actors Award, the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for her powerful portrayal of a mother’s joy and grief as Agnes Shakespeare in “Hamnet.” Risk-taking seems to run in her blood: this year, she brought the titular character of “The Bride” to life in a genre mashup laced with female empowerment. Speaking about the two characters, Buckley said she had filmed “The Bride” before “Hamnet” and had only two weeks in between films. “What I discovered in myself was the woman that you discover at the beginning of ‘Hamnet’ is the woman that I birthed in ‘The Bride.’” She added it was “a gift to know both of these women inside me, and I’m never going to let them go.”

• Nicola Coughlan

  

  Actor

  While Penelope wasn’t the focal point of “Bridgerton’s” fourth season, Coughlan always delivers main-character energy. And like the wallflower who became Lady Whistledown, Coughlan knows the power of the pen, wielding her global audience to support causes like mental health awareness, the trans community and Palestine. In addition to starring in the hit Netflix drama, the Irish actress showed off her range: reprising her BAFTA-nominated role in Channel 4’s dark dramedy “Big Mood,” delighting as a woodland fairy in the fantasy movie, “The Magic Faraway Tree” and serving as one of the hosts for the inaugural season of “Saturday Night Live U.K.”

• Sally Davies

  

  Managing director, Abbey Road

  Davies helps run a British cultural powerhouse. On top of overseeing the legendary studios, Davies is at the forefront of its innovation with cutting-edge products like Audiomovers, Europe’s first music tech incubator Abbey Road REDD and initiatives including the Abbey Road Institute. Davies has led the restoration of the iconic Studio One — which put on its first-ever rave in February — as well as the Music Photography Awards and a fashion collab with Charles Jeffrey Loverboy. Next, she aims to bring the company more into the consumer space: “There’s a future where the Abbey Road signature could live much closer to the listener… even in the devices you use every day,” she teases.

  Advice to younger self: “Trust your instincts earlier … Have the courage to follow what feels right.”

• Olivia Dean

  

  Musician

  Forget baby steps — Dean’s highly anticipated sophomore album, “The Art of Loving,” sprinted to success, selling more than two million copies worldwide. In the U.K., the record and its ubiquitous single, “Man I Need,” hit No. 1 in the same week, making Dean the first British woman to top both charts since Adele in 2021. To top it off, Dean won the Grammy for best new artist and saluted her grandmother’s bravery for emigrating to the U.K. from Guyana. Dean also earned refunds for her fans after calling out the “exploitative” ticket resale industry ahead of her sold-out world tour — a “lady lady” for the people.

• Amelia Dimoldenberg

  

  Comedian/host/producer at Dimz Inc.

  Dimoldenberg leveled up the celebrity interview with “Chicken Shop Date,” a YouTube series where she takes stars like Andrew Garfield, Paul Mescal and Rosalia to a London chicken joint and asks them awkwardly charming questions, as if on a date. “It just comes from that personal interest of mine and people connect with that authenticity — you can feel it,” she says. The show celebrated a decade last year, and in that time Dimoldenberg has also become a red carpet correspondent for the Oscars, established a production company and started a summer school for young people looking to get into the industry. Next, she’s writing and starring in a rom-com — about a journalist who begins a romance with an interview subject — and is also developing a TV series.
  I’m grateful for: My sister Zoe, for always supporting me throughout everything and her honest (sometimes too honest) opinion.

• Priya Dogra

  

  CEO, Channel 4

  Dogra was named CEO of the U.K.’s public service broadcaster in December and formally took the reins in March. With her deep experience in media, Dogra hopes to buck the trend of consolidation in favor of seeking innovative collaborations with outside partners. It’s important to “Find new ways of working in partnership — where companies can maintain distinctive brand identities and editorial voices but build deep, strategic partnerships,” she explains. Dogra began her career as banker and then joined what was then Time Warner. She spent 14 years in strategic development and M&A and rose to head Warner Bros. Discovery operations in Europe, Middle East and Asia. She exited in 2023 to become Sky’s head of advertising and new revenue. At WBD and Sky, she learned important lessons: “Change becomes something you navigate rather than fear.”

  Can’t wait for: Dogra unabashedly plugs Channel 4’s upcoming Russell T. Davies drama “Tip Toe.” “I went in with high expectations, and it definitely doesn’t disappoint.”

• Lena Dunham

  

  Writer, director, actor

  Turns out that line in the first episode of “Girls” was a prophecy: Lena Dunham really is the voice of her generation. Nothing has proven that more than “Famesick,” the writer-director-actor’s bracingly honest new memoir that immediately debuted at No. 1 on just about every bestseller list. Now based in London, Dunham — along with her production company Good Thing Going — is in post on Netflix rom-com “Good Sex” with Natalie Portman and Mark Ruffalo (which she calls “the coziest and most love-filled thing I’ve made”) and fulfilling her childhood dream of writing a novel. It’s a “romance for the girls (and gays) who don’t think they like it. Sour Skittles, if you will,” she teases.

  Personal motto: “I’m not the first person to choose ‘fuck em if they can’t take a joke’ and I won’t be the last, but it almost always applies, if you replace joke with whatever noun is troubling you that day!”

• Noma Dumezweni

  

  Actor

  For the past two decades, Dumezweni has been making a splash on television, in films and on stage. She’s a two-time Laurence Olivier Award winner — first, in 2006, for her portrayal of Ruth Younger in “A Raisin in the Sun,” and then for her performance as Hermione Granger in the original West End run of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” (She played Hermione again on Broadway, and landed a Tony nom in 2018.) Next year, Dumezweni is set to return in Season 2 of “Murderbot,” and recently wrapped production on the film adaptation of Suzie Miller’s play, “Prima Facie,” starring alongside Cynthia Erivo.

• Azi Eftekhari

  

  Chief operating officer, Sony Music U.K.

  Eftekhari has had a long and varied career across many areas of the music industry. She began working with current Sony U.K. CEO Jason Iley at Mercury Records as director of digital and publicity, where she worked closely with U2, Justin Bieber and Rihanna. She followed with an eight-year stint at Google and YouTube, where she oversaw the launch of YouTube Music in Europe. Prior to Sony, Eftekhari spent two years as co-president of Universal Music’s catalog division, then co-founded creative agency Remedy.

• Jane Featherstone and Elisabeth Murdoch

  

  Featherstone, co-founder, chief creative officer
  Murdoch, co-founder, executive chairman

  Sister Group

  The ever-expanding Sister Group — which spans TV, film, doc, animation, publishing and podcasting investments, including the original Sister Pictures (behind “Black Doves” and “Chernobyl”) — recently took a major stake in After Party, the British digital studio making waves in the online content world. The latest acquisition for the growing media empire reflects its constant desire to seek out “creatives who want to try new things, who have something to say and who are defining the net wave of storytelling across all media,” says Featherstone, one of the most respected names in TV. “Sister was built as a group to empower founders whatever the medium they tell their stories through,” adds Murdoch.

• Sonia Friedman

  

  Founder, Sonia Friedman Prods.

  Ask Friedman what to name a career high moment, and she struggles to answer. “It’s hard to pin it down to one thing,” Freedman says. Her productions have earned 74 Olivier Awards, 61 Tony Awards and three BAFTAs. She works tirelessly running a well-oiled machine that is her production company and has become one of the most powerful theater producers in the industry. She currently has 20 productions forthcoming or running, including “The Book of Mormon,” “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” and “Paddington.” It’s curiosity that keeps her going, coupled with an “insatiable need to keep challenging myself to see what is possible.” Her latest, “Paddington,” won seven Olivier Awards. How did she know the bear from Peru would be right for audiences? “The world’s in chaos. It felt very easy to approach a piece of work where its heart and its DNA are about kindness.”

  Motto: “A director said to me, ‘Never try to be in fashion, because by definition, it means you’ll have to go out of fashion.’ What I’ve taken from that is never look at last year’s success, and try to emulate it. Always try to be on the outside pushing in.”

• Francesca Gardiner

  

  Showrunner, “Harry Potter”

  Gardiner has been tasked with making the magic happen on HBO’s upcoming series adaptation of “Harry Potter.” Selected from dozens of hopefuls, the writer and producer was initially considered a dark horse to helm what the network is already describing as “the streaming event of the decade.” But her work on a number of widely respected shows — including “Killing Eve,” “His Dark Materials” and “Succession” — clearly enchanted her bosses as well as “Potter” creator J.K. Rowling. Gardiner counts her involvement in “Succession” as one of her biggest professional wins and “getting to learn from [showrunner] Jesse Armstrong and all the other extraordinary writers in that room,” says Gardiner, who won an Emmy for her work on the drama in 2022. No doubt “Potter” will be equally spellbinding.

  Survival tactic: “Walking in graveyards. All those people used to be stressed… now they’re dead!”

• Amelia Granger

  

  Head of film and TV, Working Title

  In a difficult market, Granger proves diversification is key. Her latest three projects, all released this year, may each have involved detectives but they couldn’t be more different: “The Sheep Detectives,” a family-friendly Sony-distributed feature-film starring Hugh Jackman and a flock of crime-fighting movies, “Detective Hole,” a grisly Nordic noir series for Netflix and “Crime 101,” a Prime Video original starring Chris Hemsworth. “I’ve been lucky to have a brilliant support network both at home and work, surrounded by fabulous colleagues — especially the women who have been there to pick up the pieces when things get tough.” Granger also has her fingerprints on cultural touchstones such as “Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy” and critical darling “The Substance.” “I really enjoy the variety of projects we are able to develop – and the goal is to continue to push a slate of films and tv shows that deliver to audiences,” she says.

  Thankful for: “I’m grateful for … A good memory…. and a patient husband.”

• Nina Gold

  

  Casting director

  “Conclave,” “The Crown,” “Game of Thrones” and “Hamnet” are among the TV shows and films that cemented Gold’s reputation as casting royalty. Earlier this year, she landed an Oscar nomination in the inaugural casting director category was announced. For Gold, who cast Netflix hit series “Lord of the Flies,” victory is “being a real part of the creative process of telling human stories.”

  Use the Force: For “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Gold says, “I’m generally not very good on things that have a big mythology, but with ‘Star Wars,’ that was from my youth, and it was incredibly exciting.”

• Pippa Harris

  

  Director, Neal Street Prods.

  Over the years, Harris has learned to trust her instincts as a producer, and most importantly, how to squeeze the budget. “However big the project, there is never enough money,” she says. “So, you can’t ever afford to be complacent.” That wisdom comes in handy with a feat as ambitious as filming four Beatles biopics at once. The quartet of movies marks the culmination of a landmark year for Neal Street: the company celebrated 15 years of making the hit TV series “Call the Midwife” and delivered two acclaimed films, “The Magic Faraway Tree” and the BAFTA-winning, “Hamnet.”

  Personal motto: “Know which battles are worth fighting.”

• Jay Hunt

  

  Creative director Europe, Apple TV

  Apple TV has been scoring BAFTA awards pretty regularly since 2023, when “Bad Sisters,” won best drama series among other wins. The kudos continued to pile up, with four wins in 2024 and 2025 as well as 15 nominations in 2026. “Hijack,” “Bad Sisters,” “Prehistoric Planet” and “The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy” have received multiple Emmy nominations, with “Slow Horses” earning Emmys in 2024 and 2025, alongside five nominations for the series in 2025 including outstanding drama. Hunt was appointed chair of the British Film Institute in 2024, after serving as a governor since 2020. She was also appointed chair of Hay Festival Global last year.

• Angela Jain

  

  Head of content, Disney+, The Walt Disney Company (EMEA)

  Jain is candid that her biggest win so far has been the team itself — “fantastic creative leads across Europe, Middle East and Africa who are experts in their respective markets and know their audiences so well.” That foundation underpins a push to significantly increase local originals across the region, with Jain making a point of visiting markets in person, observing local life and watching local television. Disney is “known for best-in-class storytelling all over the world,” says Jain, and that sets the bar for what the EMEA team commissions — one it is “unwilling to compromise on” as volumes grow.

  Future plans: The goal is to broaden the perception of what Disney+ offers — “distinctive stories across scripted and unscripted that capture the zeitgeist and get people talking” — while maintaining a “local for local” approach that puts regional audiences first.

• Maya Jama

  

  Presenter

  With nine seasons hosting “Love Island” under her belt, Jama has become a household name in the U.K. But Jama refuses to stay in one lane, landing her first acting gig in the upcoming second season of Guy Ritchie’s “The Gentlemen” and building a business as the co-owner of pea-milk brand Sproud. And the Bristol-born star is no stranger to giving back: In 2025 she launched MIJ Mentorships, a program creating pathways for young women in the creative industry. Despite a stacked resume, Jama’s biggest win of the past year is “trusting my own instincts more,” she says. “I fully trust my gut, and that’s an amazing place to be in.”

  Advice to younger self: “Don’t overthink anything, be fearless.”

• Felicity Jones

  

  Actor

  A decade after her first Oscar nomination (for “The Theory of Everything”), Jones was back in the awards race last year for “The Brutalist.” Then came the equally eye-catching U.S. period drama “Train Dreams,” plus quirky fantasy “100 Nights of Hero,” while Arnaud Desplechin’s Parisian drama “The Thing That Hurts” was recently announced ‘“Finding new characters in such different contexts is wonderful — it’s as though you get to go traveling through them,” claims the Brit, who is now also producing (among the projects from her Piecrust Pictures is an F1 drama with Amazon MGM Studios. “I love being able to be part of a story’s genesis — to work with writers and to make something really idiosyncratic is delightful.”

  Advice to younger self: “Just breathe, it’ll be OK. And if it’s not OK, you’ll figure it out!”

• Ania Magliano

  

  Comedian

  The comedian has made waves as a “Weekend Update” co-host on the U.K. spinoff of “Saturday Night Live” — the first woman to do so in over a decade. Magliano picked up steam on London’s stand-up circuit before landing “SNL,” and has previously written for Amelia Dimoldenberg’s “Chicken Shop Date” and was a finalist on the British game show “Taskmaster.” Next, she’s heading on a U.K. tour before performing her first-ever U.S. shows later this year. She cites Tina Fey, who hosted the “SNL U.K.” premiere, as one of her inspirations. “I haven’t really ever worked with a powerful woman in comedy who still writes and creates her own stuff,” she says. “I was like, I want to be like that when I grow up.”

  Something that’s ripe for a comeback: “Club Penguin.”

• Alex Mahon

  

  CEO, Superstruct Entertainment

  Mahon joined music festival giant Superstruct last year, having been the boss of Channel 4 for several years. “Joining Superstruct has genuinely been one of the most interesting things I have done,” Mahon says. “It is a business built by people who care deeply about what they create, and that energy is infectious.” She adds that the high point has been “spending time with the founders and event teams across Europe and seeing just how much creative excellence there is and how delighted Gen Z are to be at live events in person, experiencing something they have not yet seen on socials.” Discussing the challenges ahead, she says, “Keeping up with how fast consumer demand is changing. What fans want, how they discover events, when they decide to buy, what they are willing to pay for — it is all shifting faster than it was even two years ago.”

  Survival tactic: “The ability to genuinely reboot turns out to be one of the most important skills in a long career.”

• Anne Mensah

  

  VP of content, U.K. Netflix

  For Mensah, the measure of a great year is not a single breakout title, but the breadth of a conversation with an audience. Under her stewardship, Netflix U.K. has built a slate spanning high-profile series (“The Crown,” “The Gentlemen”), documentary (“Louis Theroux’s Into the Manosphere,” “Grenfell”), entertainment formats (“At Home With the Furies,” “Love Is Blind”) and film (“Peaky Blinders: Immortal Man”) – without overlooking smaller, bespoke and important shows like “Heartstopper.” “The win is that our audience knows we make shows just for them,” she says. Looking ahead, she has comedy firmly in her sights — a genre she calls “really exciting and underserved” — and has hired Liz Lewin, executive producer of “Derry Girls” and “How to Get to Heaven,” to lead the push.

  
  What success looks like: Mensah says that shows travel “because they are truthful and made with love — not because we have tried to make them appeal to everyone.”

• Carolyn McCall

  

  CEO, ITV

  McCall had proven herself as a CEO at Guardian Media Group and EasyJet at the time she was recruited to turn around ITV in 2018. Eight years later, she’s proud of her track record. “The biggest challenge was that there was no direct-to-consumer business, no data, and no investment in any digital platform. So we had to start from scratch,” she says. Today, global streaming provides some 28% of ITV’s total revenue. If she could give her younger self advice, McCall has a clear vision: “I would focus on world-class storytelling. Technology and AI are important tools to support the creative process, but the heart of our industry will always be finding distinctive, compelling stories and bringing them to as many people as possible.”

  Drama queen: McCall loves the drama — ITV’s distinctive dramas, including “Gone,” “Playing Nice” and “Code of Silence;” she never misses “I’m a Celebrity…” or “Love Island.”

• Wunmi Mosaku

  

  Actor

  In 2017, for “Damilola, Our Loved Boy,” Mosaku became only the second Black woman in 62 years to win a BAFTA TV Award — and she hasn’t slowed down since. What followed were major roles in “Luther,” “Lovecraft Country,” “Loki” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.” This year, she leveled up once again, turning heads in Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” playing the fierce, vulnerable Annie, a performance she gave only seven months after welcoming her first daughter — and one that landed her an Academy Award nomination. Her upcoming schedule is packed, too: She stars in Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Reckoning,” his “Social Network” follow-up, set for an October release, as well as Idris Elba’s directorial debut, the undated psychological thriller “This Is How It Goes” for Apple.

• Leena Nair

  

  Global Chief of Executive Officer, Chanel

  Appointed to her post in January 2022, Nair is the rare woman of color leading a major fashion house. She brought 30 years of experience at Unilever to Chanel, a fashion biz outsider who has appointed more women in leadership positions, seen success targeting growth markets and increased the Chanel Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to the empowerment to women and girls around the world, to $100 million. Chanel’s history with the entertainment business continues to stay strong as well, with stars like Kristen Stewart showing that the 116-year-old brand remain cutting-edge.

• Samantha Poling

  

  Investigative journalist, BBC

  A six-time BAFTA winner, Poling works on a variety of investigative documentary series for the BBC, including “Panorama” and “Disclosure.” Her work has real-life consequences, not least when it results in long-awaited justice for families who have lost loved ones. A case in point is Poling’s 2019 interview with Iain Packer, a suspect in a two-decades old murder case, which eventually led to his arrest and conviction in 2024. He was found guilty of 32 offences against 22 women. “I have spent my career investigating criminality and serious organized crime networks and have been responsible for a number of people being arrested and convicted over the years,” she says. “I am currently working on another murder case which I hope will bring both justice and resolution for a family who have waited so long for answers.”

  In my next life, I want to be: “My dog. He has the best life.”

• Dana Strong

  

  Chief executive, Sky

  Strong built her career by rising through the ranks of the industry’s largest and most innovative cable operators: Comcast, Liberty Global and Virgin Media. She took over as the top leader of Sky in 2021 following Comcast’s acquisition of the European satellite TV platform. Leading Sky amid the direct-to-consumer global streaming revolution brings together all of her experience. “I’ve spent my career at the intersection of media, technology and connectivity, often leading businesses through periods of transformation,” she says. “It’s shaped my belief that successful transformation ultimately depends on people, culture, and bringing teams with you through change.” She has gained perspective on business overall through her exposure to international markets. The biggest contrast between the media sector in the U.K. and U.S. is “culture versus scale,” she says. “In the UK, media is deeply woven into national life — through public-service media, trusted news and storytelling that reflects who we are.”

  Funny business: Strong is proud of Sky’s successful launch of “SNL U.K.,” which was a priority for Comcast. She called it “a brilliant example of taking a long-established U.S. institution and making it feel culturally relevant for U.K. audiences, with a voice and humor that’s unmistakably British.”

• Briony Turner

  

  Co-president, Atlantic Records U.K.

  Along with co-president Ed Howard, Turner oversees a roster that includes Charli xcx, Ed Sheeran, Fred Again and Maisie Peters, as well as international acts Bruno Mars, Burna Boy, Cardi B and Kehlani. She began her career in 2002 as a song scout for the “Pop Idol” TV competition, working in management and publishing before becoming one of the few female A&R executives in the British industry at the time. She has worked closely with many of the above artists since early in their careers, as well as Clean Bandit and Jess Glynne.

• Jane Turton

  

  CEO, All3Media

  Turton has been chief exec of All3Media, which runs 40 companies active in TV, film, theater and digital, since 2015. The recent announcement of the intention to merge with Banijay, another production giant, was “a significant moment for the business,” she says. “The combination of these two great businesses, All3Media and Banijay, both of which have world-class talent and phenomenal IP, creates a lot of new and exciting opportunities.” Among the challenges facing the business is that “the market is incredibly competitive.” She adds that it is “a good one in many ways as it encourages us to focus and to prioritize the very best talent, the strongest IP, smart dealmaking, and building good long-term relationships.”

  Ripe for a comeback? “Original ideas. ‘The Traitors’ is a great example. Audiences always respond to something that feels new and distinctive and is beautifully produced. There’s room for more of that.”

• Jane Tranter

  

  CEO and co-founder, Bad Wolf

  Since its launch in 2015, prestige TV hitmaker Bad Wolf has been behind adaptations such as “His Dark Materials” and most recently “The Other Bennet Sister” alongside originals like “Red Eye” and “Industry.” The remarkably breadth and depth of its output (which also includes the latest seasons of “Doctor Who”) is a result of Bad Wolf “puffing and huffing to keep up and reflect the emerging emotions, resonances and world view of audiences,” says multi-award-winning TV veteran Tranter, who notes that “often the difference between success and failure is stopping.” And that’s especially true on a show like “Industry,” which went from a loose concept set in the financial world to one of the most talked-about shows in town. “I simply refused to consider stopping until we’d achieved success.”

  Show is ripe for a comeback: “’Widows,’ but only if someone lets Bad Wolf make it and it can finally happen.”

• Claudia Winkleman

  

  Host, “The Traitors” (U.K.), “The Claudia Winkleman Show”

  Winkleman launched her own talk show recently, and co-hosted coverage of dog show Crufts. “Standing at the entrance to Crufts was quite something as was hosting the chat show. I’ve been freakishly lucky,” she says. As for challenges, she says, “I’m still not quite sure of the difference between a Norfolk and a Norwich terrier (I’m joking, it’s all in the ears), and the fear I had over trying out a chat show felt overwhelming, which is possibly why I simply yelped and fidgeted in the first episode. I would officially like to apologize for that.”

  In your next life, what would you want to be? “My dog. I’ve just ordered him a personalized cushion to sleep on next to my head. I’ve lost my mind.”

• Susie Wolff

  

  Managing director, F1 Academy

  Wolff oversees the women’s race organization F1 Academy, launched in 2023 with support from the mighty Formula One organization, and has worked hard to grow its visibility. Her work has paid off, as global audiences have tuned into Netflix hit “F1: The Academy” and fans turn up at the track to cheer and partners like Sephora and Disney help grow the sport. “It all comes down to visibility and opportunity. We’re putting female talent on the global F1 stage and ensuring that the pathway is clear and accessible. When young girls see drivers who look like them racing on an F1 weekend, and progressing through the system, it changes what they believe is possible. That perception shift is how you build lasting popularity and real impact,” she says.

  How to unwind: “I try to keep it simple. Spending time with family, getting outside or doing some exercise really helps me reset. When things are fast-moving, even small moments to switch off are important. For me, it’s about finding balance so you can come back the next day with energy and clarity.”

• Trinny Woodall

  

  Founder, CEO, Trinny London

  Woodall found fame with fashion TV show “What Not to Wear,” but then set up cosmetics brand Trinny London in 2017. Her high points over the past year include the launch of Naked Ambition Azelaic Acid + Vitamin C Serum, which has been winning numerous awards, including “best redness-reducing serum” from a prestigious U.S. publication as well as a top U.K. one, too. “These moments are incredible for the team — it validates their hard work and gives us something we can all celebrate together,” she says. Recent challenges include “hiring the right people,” she says. “It took a long time to decide on our new CMO, Michelle Marks, but nearly a year later, I know it was the right decision. It’s about refining exactly what the business needs for its current stage and making hires you’ll never regret.”

  Personal motto: “You never know what’s behind the closed door.”

• Aimee Lou Wood

  

  Actor

  After starring in British TV hits like “Sex Education” and “Daddy Issues,” the Manchester-born actor broke through in the States with her memorable, Emmy-nominated turn in Season 3 of “The White Lotus.” She’s been on the rise ever since, booking the role of Patty Boyd in Sam Mendes’ highly anticipated Beatles films and starring alongside Angelina Jolie in Marc Forster’s upcoming comedy “Anxious People.” Wood says the women in her life have carried her through her career, and she strives to do the same. “Solidarity is everything,” she says. “I always make sure I’m not leaving a woman to fight a battle alone.”

  Personal motto: “‘When you see it, say it. When you feel it, say it.’ Don’t hold back when it comes to celebrating people.”