Julian and I have worked together several times in somewhat differing capacities. Firstly he has worked for me as a freelance producer on the BBC General Election night programmes of 2017, 2019 and 2024. We also collaborated on an episode of Talking Business in 2024, which I produce for BBC News; he was acting for his client, the Connected Places Catapult.

 

Julian is a conqueror of challenges, an enthusiastic agent of delivery where problems arise. So when I found myself facing a last minute communications hurdle as the election night of 2017 approached, I called him, hopeful he would be open to playing a part in restoring the workflow for one of the BBC's highest profile special news shows.

 

I have been the chief picture producer for the BBC's election programmes since 2010 - overseeing a big team of direct and indirect reports to get the best and most newsworthy material on air within the programme and on the BBC's next-day news programmes. At a very late stage in June 2017, I uncovered a technical issue which meant we lacked a crucial communications link at our Elstree studios between the production team and the constituency liaison coordinators. There was no pathway to restoring it.

 

So I called upon Julian, with a brief to be my eyes, ears and voice in the midst of the zone we call the sub hubs. It meant he could keep me and certain colleagues apprised of editorial developments everywhere: impending announcements, candidate arrivals, compelling scenes, etc. And with his own access to producers up and down the country he chased up directly some of the material which added real value to our coverage.

 

Through his performance Julian essentially created a role that I decided to implement in future. He returned to work on the 2019 and 2024 elections in a similar capacity. While the communications link we lacked in 2017 had been restored, it was enormously valuable to have a producer of his calibre working on the team.

 

Outside of election season, I work on the BBC's international business programmes: Business Today and Talking Business. In 2024, Julian invited me to a big symposium hosted by his client, the Connected Places Catapult. It was a great opportunity to meet all sorts of experts who might be useful contributors to my programmes. I decided to build a show on the future of cities around the CPC chair, Professor Greg Clark CBE. The show also featured the Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp and the CEO of Autodesk, Andrew Anagnost. It was great to collaborate with Julian and his colleagues to navigate the most important themes and craft a really interesting and insightful show.

 

Julian is an enthusiastic networker, always thinking of linking people and projects with each other and he is a diligent communications executive. If you find an opportunity to work with him, do it. 

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David Waddell LinkedIn profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwaddell/