Phil Towers

Channel 4 have broadcast a number of high profile investigations – including the recent Dispatches documentary featuring allegations about Russell Brand – but with this comes a need to protect whistleblowers from danger. 

Speaking to students at Leeds Trinity University as part of their annual Journalism and Media Week, commissioners Janine Thomas and Adam Vandermark spoke about what goes into the production of factual and current affairs programming being given the green light, including the risks that are part of the process and what is in place to protect the channel and contributors from them. 

Mr Vandermark said: “In terms of contributors, for instance those in the Russell Brand documentary, some will want to be identified and some will not, so you have to have a very important conversation with them and reassure them that if they don’t want to be recognised or identified, that that will be the case. 

“Some people who are willing to speak don’t want to be identified and will be frightened about speaking out maybe, so that’s a process that you walk through with contributors.” 

Ms Thomas also spoke about the need to ensure productions remain compliant, so they are legally safe to broadcast. 

She said: “We’ve got an amazing legal team who support us in our ambitions and make sure that we can actually tell these stories.  

“There’s lots of process that we go through as well.” 

As well as the Dispatches documentary strand, Channel 4 produces content under the Untold brand, which is aimed at viewers between the ages of 16 and 34 and aims to provide ‘noisy and bold journalism’ through the broadcaster’s streaming services. 

So far this year it has commissioned documentaries including ‘the growing incel community’, and what happens to contestants on Love Island after the show has finished. 

As Commissioning Editor for Untold, Janine Thomas said: “It’s just an amazing strand and it makes me excited. 

“I’m really proud of the fact that we do a very high level of investigation in what we do – yes it’s bright, it’s splashy and it’s youth, but we don’t compromise on that.” 

She said that there is a responsibility to ensure programming is fair, but viewers are intelligent and like to make up their own mind once the facts are laid before them. 

She said: “When you meet someone that is in those kind of worlds, and you speak to them and allow them to speak, instantly your thought process changes because you’re now hearing a first hand account. 

“You’re able to make your mind up from that point of view and that’s incredibly powerful.” 

When asked about the protections in place for contributors to these shows, she said: “We do everything on a case by case basis. 

“Every situation is considered as being a separate situation, and needing separate protections and parameters around it.” 

Untold is available at Channel4.com/Untold

Outspoken broadcaster Piers Morgan believes the American people “clearly don’t want Biden as President”, and that a second term of Donald Trump is likely.

Speaking to students at Leeds Trinity University as part of their annual Journalism and Media Week, Mr Morgan spoke candidly about how he became friends with the former President, businessman and television personality – and how he thinks there is a strong possibility he will win the 2024 Presidential election. 

He said: “Anyone who’s sitting there today thinking Donald Trump can’t be President again by this time next year, they’re living in cloud cuckoo land. 

“The latest poll that’s come out in America shows that he’s ahead of Biden quite comfortably in five of the six swing states.” 

Broadcaster and journalist Morgan, 58, who presents the nightly current affairs show Piers Morgan Uncensored on Talk TV and on other channels internationally, said that it is extraordinary that the United States is facing the prospect of having a President who has nearly a hundred criminal charges against him. 

He said: “Each time he gets charged, his poll numbers go up.” 

Speaking about his relationship with Trump, Mr Morgan said: “I know what Donald Trump’s like, I’ve known him a long time.  

“We’ve been friends on and off, we’re in a bit of a pause at the moment.” 

He said this was down to Trump’s behaviour in the aftermath of the 2020 election, which saw a mob of his supporters storm the Capitol Building in Washington DC, two months after his defeat. 

Mr Morgan also gave his thoughts on free speech, and said that the premise of his current TV show is that people are able to debate and discuss issues without fear of being cut off or shut down. 

He said: “I’m afraid this whole woke cancel culture farce that we’re going through is illustrative of a deep attack on free speech. 

“It’s not just the woke left, it’s also people like Donald Trump who don’t want to allow people to have an opinion if they don’t like it, and I think that’s equally ridiculous.” 

The broadcaster had a message for the students who were watching. 

He said: “I hope that this next generation who are watching this, I hope that instilled in you is an absolute understanding that people are entitled to different opinions, and even if you hate them, they’re entitled to different opinions.  

“Otherwise we’re not a democracy, we become something else, we become North Korea, Russia, China, somewhere where they put you in prison or kill you for having opinions.” 

Leeds passengers continue to show their appreciation following the reintroduction of the number 9 bus between Horsforth and the White Rose Centre. 

It’s two weeks since the route was taken on by Yorkshire Buses after it was withdrawn by First Group, and travellers and bosses alike are pleased with how it has gone despite some challenges along the way. 

Steve Carr, from Yorkshire Buses, says that passenger numbers are starting to look healthy following a slow start due to the Easter holidays.

He said: “This week, with the colleges back and the schools back, it’s been very good.

“Excellent feedback from people – they like the fact that staff are friendly, that’s our whole ethos.”

There have been some challenges with traffic affecting travel times, with Yorkshire Buses putting out a statement on their social media this morning apologising for the roadworks in Horsforth causing the service to run late.

Passengers in Horsforth say that they are very happy that the route has been saved, with one describing it as a “lifeline” as he can see his family easily.

Full details of the route along with timetables can be found on the Yorkshire Buses website: http://www.yorkshirebuses.co.uk

TransPennine Express (TPE) has today introduced British Sign Language (BSL) passenger information boards at Leeds Train Station. 

The digital screens, which display live departure information as well as station announcements, are being installed throughout the rail network as part of a drive to improve accessibility. 

Travellers can now see information such as platform changes and other service information without having to rely on spoken announcements or written screens. 

Fran Barrett, Business Assurance Director at TPE, said: “A large proportion of the deaf community cannot read as it’s difficult to learn to do so when you cannot hear the language being spoken, therefore the introduction of these boards is a necessity for those who communicate via BSL. 

“We’re extremely proud to become one of the first train operators in the North to install the BSL message boards.” 

The boards have been welcomed by the Leeds Hearing & Sight Loss Service, who said: “This small change makes a huge difference to the independence of the deaf community. 

“Hopefully this will reduce the amount of anxiety the deaf community feel when travelling. 

“It is nice to see that barriers are slowly being broken.” 

They also say they hope to see further improvements, including screens on trains, so that the whole journey is made more accessible. 

“I’m very pleased to see the screens at Leeds train station. They have been a long time coming. As a BSL user myself, this will make a big difference on whether I travel on trains or drive into work. In the past I’ve been unable to hear the announcements for change of platforms or delays, this is very frustrating and leaves me anxious. It would be good to see the screens on the trains too. It’s an improvement and it will make things easier at the start of my journey. Hopefully more changes will follow for the full journey.”

Leeds Hearing & Sight Loss Service

The introduction comes as West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin has once again raised concerns about the performance of TransPennine Express. 

Writing to Transport Secretary Mark Harper, she says that the train operator “needs to start afresh under new ownership,” claiming that passengers are subjected to poor performance and persistent cancellations. 

The current agreement to operate the franchise runs until the end of May, but there is no sign yet of a decision on its future. 

Siobhan Thomas wanted clothing that fitted her well and matched her personality, but ended up creating so much more. She spoke to Phil Towers about her journey to launch ‘What’s Your Skirt?’ and how she has taken the fashion world by storm.

“I was so – I’ll say it – so fed up in trying to find clothes that matched my body shape on the high street. I couldn’t find clothes to match my personality. And if there was, they were frumpy! It’s upsetting.” 

With her plain speaking and infectious laugh, it’s easy to see why Siobhan has managed to create such a successful business where her personality is front and centre. She bounds into the room, coffee cup in hand – on a tight schedule but with time for everyone.  

First things first, I ask her to give me an idea of what her company, ‘What’s Your Skirt?’, is, and what has made it so successful. 

“Essentially what we do is create skirts for loads of lovely people,” she explains. “We specialise in making skirts to match people’s personality. 

“We’ve been running since 2018. We’ve done really well actually in the time, won quite a few awards, done many shows up and down the UK.” 

The pride that Siobhan has in her business is clear. To her it is more than designing skirts, it is about giving other women the confidence and support that she feels they deserve. 

“I really want women to feel and look confident, and just really be who they’re meant to be,” she continues. “There’s so many women that feel really low about themselves – low self-esteem, very critical of themselves, and I think for me I wanted to be inspired by someone who is more than happy to just be themselves, it doesn’t matter about their size, it doesn’t matter about their race, about what they do or don’t do, it’s just about them.” 

Now based at her studio in Yorkshire, Siobhan was originally inspired by the idea that a skirt could be the key part of a whole outfit. 

“I just saw a gap in the market and I thought we really could do something new,” she says. “People would come up to me and say ‘Oh – I really love that dress that you’re wearing,’ and nine times out of ten it was always a skirt and a top.  

“People never really realised it was, so ultimately I used to go ‘Oh I’m wearing a skirt and a top, it’s one of my skirts’ and they’d be like ‘Oh wow really woo! That’s really really nice,’ so I thought it would be cool to bring that into the brand so you can make it look like it’s one outfit, but really it’s pieced.” 

Her trademark skirts are bold, hand-crafted, and there is the option of having something designed to your own individual style. 

“We have a ready-to-wear section where we release collections twice a year,” she explains, “and then we also have the haute couture element which is bespoke, making a garment for the actual person – for an occasion like a wedding or anything like that.” 

So if she was to design a skirt that summed up her own personality, what would it look like? 

“Oh that’s a good question,” she laughs. “Even though I’m in black, which is my day job sort of wear, I love bright colours personally, I like happy colours, particularly yellows, blues, reds – woo kind of colours!  

“So I’d probably say something that was quite bold. I like print, I like anything that really makes me feel happy and matches my personality I’d say.” 

Our brief time is almost up, but I just have time to quiz Siobhan on what the future holds for her and her business. 

“I’d love to be a boutique concession in different countries around the world, it would be amazing,” she says. “I would almost love to duplicate myself and find the staff who would approach the whole design process like I would. Almost train designers to do the same thing that I do, but having that same kind of intimate and personal service.  

“How I would do that, I really don’t know! But I’d love to do that, it would be really really cool.” 

Siobhan Thomas is the founder of ‘What’s Your Skirt?’, which can be found online at www.whatsyourskirt.com 

Leeds Trinity University’s Environmental Champions have outlined their ambitions to reduce waste at today’s Environmental and Sustainability Update. 

William Townend, the university’s Sustainability Manager, said he was working towards “a sustainable, green campus” with a greater focus on reducing single-use plastic and improving biodiversity. 

He outlined his aims to the group, which include engaging with the wider Horsforth community and focusing on celebrating achievements so that students feel more informed and involved. 

The university has been working with biodegradable packaging manufacturers Vegware to introduce some of their plant-based and renewable items into the university’s catering facilities.  

Now that they are in use, a campaign will shortly be underway to increase awareness amongst students of the role that they can play in helping the university reach its sustainability goals through proper recycling. 

When asked about demand for biodegradable packaging, David Dyce, Waste Management Consultant from Vegware, said: “It’s something we’re seeing a massive uptake in at the moment.”  

Once used, the items go in with food waste rather than into the general waste, meaning that they are composted instead of going to landfill. 

It is claimed by Mr Dyce that this packaging can lead to a 75% reduction in carbon footprint from that of what was used before, “mitigating some of the impacts of climate change.” 

The university has also seen some success in its recent cup recycling scheme.  

Since January, a levy has been put onto the price of a single use cup when buying from any of the campus coffee shops, leading to over a thousand fewer cups being used.  

 “Where we can’t use Vegware, we’ve joined a national cup recycling scheme,” said one contributor. 

For this to work, the single-use cups will instead be collected in bespoke cup holders which are being installed throughout the university over coming weeks. 

The group will meet again next month to review their introduction and discuss the progress of their other initiatives.