Screen Manchester Meets 4 WFTV Cohort Mentees for 2026

Here the four mentees share what drew them to the scheme.

Yinka Akano is a Commercial, Rights and Business Affairs Manager at BBC Children’s where she oversees the entire 0-6 CBeebies slate and all animation commissions including the BBC Ignite Scheme.

She says, “I love business affairs and all things deal-making, but I realised it’s not the only thing I want to do. I have a passion for understanding how to make IP benefit us financially and I’m really interested in developing ideas for production. I thought WFTV would help me figure out how best to make that pivot and it has done exactly that. It’s also surrounded me with a group of really accomplished, amazing women who have been inspiring. I have learned so much from my cohort, it’s been awesome.”

Emma Boyd is an experienced Line Producer at BBC Studios Kids and Family, with a background spanning genres including scripted, animation, unscripted and live studio productions. Over the past decade, she managed budgets ranging from £2 million to £12 million, overseeing projects across the Kids & Family slate from earliest prep through post-production.

When asked what encouraged her to apply for the WFTV Scheme, Emma says: “I had heard so many amazing things about WFTV so I really wanted to be involved. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to get on the scheme, but the insights and learnings I’ve had in this short space of time have been amazing!”

Emma says that the programme has driven her to examine her career and consider what’s next. As someone who has worked at the BBC for her entire career, Emma feels the WFTV mentorship provided invaluable industry insight and introduced her to an incredible network of contacts, for which she is extremely grateful.

Zeli Zulu is a screenwriter and former business banker and lawyer: “Not that I practice anymore. Thank God! You can currently find most of my work on Netflix.”

Zeli credits the amazing women behind the organisation and past mentees as reasons she was keen to become a part of the 2026 cohort: “They’re all so very impressive and generous- I wanted to be a part of that community and one day pay it forward!”

And what Zeli hopes to achieve by being part of the initiative? “Forming and becoming part of this tribe of dazzling and inspiring women!”

Kimberley Hart-Simpson is a well-known face to TV viewers, having starred in, amongst others, Coronation Street, Brassic, Mount Pleasant and Hollyoaks.  She is also a screenwriter currently focusing particularly on comedy. Kimberly trained as an actor at drama school little suspecting at the time that she would pivot into writing.

When asked what drew her to apply for the WFTV programme Kimberly says: “I was already a happy WFTV customer thanks to the number of brilliant online workshops with leading industry professionals – but reading about the chance to join the cohort of trailblazers… it was a no-brainer. I saw the line-up of mentors who had attached their names previously, and you can’t argue with it. They are some of the biggest names in the industry. I went to an open day for Bad Wolf. On stage, a team member spoke about her journey into working in TV, she said it was WFTV Cohort that changed her life. In that moment, I knew I had to be a part of it. Not only that, but you receive amazing sessions and meet new friends who you just know have exciting careers ahead of them.”

WFTV will be launching their next Four Nations Mentoring Scheme very soon so if you’re interested in the programme look out for application details on their website and socials.