the media lunch club was established in 1994, by producer Martin Cahill, as a non-profit making, and politically neutral, networking society and has grown to become the film, tv and media industry's premiere café du commerce.
Monthly lunches are held in London's West End (and a Brighton away-day lunch during the summer), with an invited guest speaker. Some of our previous speakers include:
Producers: Tim Bevan, Stephen Evans, Rebecca O'Brien, Richard Holmes, Jeremy Thomas, Duncan Kenworthy, Michael Kuhn, Nik Powell, Marc Samuelson, Richard Holmes, Michael Deeley, Simon Channing-Williams, Simon Oakes (Hammer films), Paul Brett and Jeremy Bolt.
Directors: Sir Alan Parker, Beeban Kidron, Robert Young, John Irvin, Stuart Baird, Waris Hussein, Roy Ward Baker, Vic Armstrong, Jack Cardiff, Ronnie Neame, Lewis Gilbert, John Glen, Guy Hamilton and Ray Harryhausen.
Executives: Duncan Reid (Ingenious), Greg Dyke (TV), Ian Hutchinson (Silver Reel), Lord Michael Grade, Amanda Nevill (BFI), Stewart Till (former UK Film Council Chairman), Lenny Crooks (formerly of New Cinema Fund, UK Film Council), David Thompson (formerly BBC Films), Steve Christian (Pinewood Films), Peter Bennett-Jones (Tiger Aspect), John Woodward (former CEO, UK Film Council), Jane Lighting (former CEO Channel 5), Simon George (Ealing Studios Productions), Lorraine Heggesey (ITV/BBC), Dr Kim Howells MP & Shaun Woodward MP (former Film Ministers), Sara Geater (all 3 media) and Robert Duval, David Cooke & David Austin (directors of BBFC);
Sales agents: Hilary Davis (Bankside), Mike Goodridge (Protagonist), Martin Myers (Miracle Communications), Andrew Loveday (Carnaby), Maura Ford (7 & 7), Alex Hamilton (former E One, now Pathe), David Grumbach (Juliette Films, Luxembourg), Michael Ryan (formerly J&M, now independent).
Actors: Sir Roger Moore, Britt Ekland, Honor Blackman, Judy Cornwell, Jenny Hanley, Sally Geeson, Virginia McKenna, Ray Brooks, Bruce Montagu, Brian Capron, Victor Spinetti, Richard Kiel, Madeline Smith.
Writers: Dick Clement, Sir Ronald Harwood, Rob Sprackling, Jimmy Perry, Brian Clemens, Raymond Allen, Jimmy Sangster. …. to name but a few!
the media lunch club also hosts occasional evening networking events, from 2009 additional and occasional 'Briefing Lunches', (to focus on a more specialised subject in an intimate board-room setting) and during the Coronavirus pandemic switched to online podcasts, with guests in discussion with committee member and broadcaster Olly Smith.
Membership is inexpensive and open to all in the media business.
On April 19th 2013 Sir Alan Parker joined us for our 200th lunch, and cut the special birthday cake!
DAME JOAN BAKEWELLDBE
Friday October 18th 2024
Journalist, television presenter and playwright
Joan Bakewell was born in Stockport, Cheshire, where both her grandfathers were factory workers. She was educated at Stockport High School for Girls then won a scholarship and attended Newnham College, Cambridge, where she studied Economics, then History.
She began her career as a studio manager for BBC Radio, before moving into television where in the early 1960s Dame Joan presented ATV’s Sunday Break, Southern Television’s Home at 4.30, BBC’s Meeting Point and the BBC series The Second Sex.
She then became known as one of the presenters of the BBC2 programme Late Night Line-Up (1965–72) and in 1968 took the role of narrator of the BBC TV production of Cold Comfort Farm, a three-part serial, plus played a TV interviewer in the 1960s film The Touchables.
Other presenting roles followed on Reports Action, a Sunday teatime programme which encouraged the public to donate their services to various good causes, plus Where is Your God?, Who Cares, The Affirmative Way and many Holiday Programmes between 1974 and 1978. Significantly she was Newsnight's arts correspondent (1986–88) until Arts coverage was dropped from news programmes in the era of John Birt's changes to the BBC. Dame Joan switched to being the main presenter of the ethics documentary series Heart of the Matter, which she hosted for 12 years.
In 2001, Dame Joan wrote and presented a four-part series for BBC Two called Taboo, a personal exploration of the concepts of taste, decency and censorship, which dealt frankly with sex and nudity and in some cases pushed the boundaries of what was permissible on mainstream television.
In 2009, she won the category Journalist of the Year at the annual Stonewall Awards and in 2017 became one of the hosts of the Channel 5 documentary series Secrets of the National Trust.
On Sky Arts, she more recently co-hosted Portrait Artist of the Year and Landscape Artist of the Year alongside Frank Skinner and later Stephen Mangan.
Between 1999-2002 Dame Joan held the post of BFI Chair, was awarded a CBE in 1999 and DBE in 2008.
She is, quite frankly a doyen of British broadcasting and has a fascinating trove of stories to share!
