Company Director | Director & EP

Aaron Young

Aaron Young is a Bright Button Company Director and BAFTA-nominated director and executive producer with over 19 years of production experience across projects for the BBC, PBS, Channel 4, UKTV,  UK Film Council and Channel 5. He is the Executive Producer of: RTS and Sandford St. Martin nominated ‘Prue Leith: Journey with My Daughter’ (Channel 4, 2020, 1x 47′), RTS Award-winning  ‘Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany’ (BBC, 2019, 2x 59′) Director/Producer of: ‘Normandy ’44: D-Day and the Battle for France (Typhoon Pictures 2020, 3x 48′) ‘Word Waves’ (BBC Scotland 2019- ) RTS-nominated ‘Imphal & Kohima: Britain’s Greatest Battle’ (HHTV, 2017, 1x 70′), ‘Normandy ’44: The Battle Beyond D-Day’ (BBC, 2014, 1x 59′), ‘The Battle for Malta’ (BBC, 2013, 1x 59′), ‘Dam Busters: The Race to Smash the German Dams’ (BBC, 2011, 1x 59′), ‘Battle of Britain: The Real Story’ (BBC, 2010, 1x 59′), and producer of Sandford St. Martin Award nominated ‘Durga – The Goddess Comes To London’ (five, 2006, 1x 45′). He has also worked across a number of other singles and series, including: ‘The Great British Story’ (BBC, 2012, 8x 59′), ‘Story of England‘ (BBC, 2010, 6x 59′), ‘Christina: A Medieval Life’ (BBC, 2008, 1x 59′), ‘The Story of India (BBC/PBS, 2007, 6x 59′), ‘Victory in Europe’ (UKTV, 2005, 1x 48′), ‘Walking The Bible: A Journey into Three Faiths’ (PBS, 2005, 3x 48′), and ‘In Search of Myths & Heroes’ (BBC/PBS, 2004, 4x 59′) In addition, Aaron spent six years working on the UK Film Council’s Completion Fund overseeing and Executive Producing close to 100 short films, which enjoyed festival success around the world including a BAFTA win, 4 BAFTA Nominations, an Oscar® shortlisting and screenings at festivals such as Sundance, Cannes, Berlin, Toronto and Venice.

In 2006 he produced a series of nine ‘Single Shot‘ works that premiered at Tate Britain and toured the UK as part of a joint UK Film Council and Arts Council England initiative.

In 2011, Aaron was named on the inaugural BAFTA ‘Brits to Watch‘ list of British talent tipped for industry success.

Company Director | Producer

Freya Eden-Ellis

Freya Eden-Ellis is a Bright Button Company Director, and the producer of Prue Leith: Journey with My Daughter (Channel 4, 2020), RTS Award-winning Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany (BBC 4, 2019), Normandy ’44: D-Day and the Battle for France (Typhoon Pictures, 2020).

She has run shoots in Europe, the US, Australia, and the Middle East, including under hazardous conditions, for programmes such as Islam: The Untold Story (Channel 4, 2012) and worked to build great relationships with fixers to ensure safety and the smooth running of productions. Most recently, she has written, produced and directed short films for BBC Learning, including our Word Waves early literacy series.

In addition to these projects, Freya has worked on a number of other TV series and films including: ‘Normandy ’44: The Battle Beyond D-Day’ (BBC, 2014), ‘The Battle for Malta’ (BBC, 2013), and BAFTA shortlisted documentaries ‘Dam Busters: The Race to Smash the German Dams’ (BBC, 2011), and ‘Battle of Britain: The Real Story’ (BBC, 2010), ‘The Great British Story’ (BBC, 2012), ‘Michael Wood’s Story of England’ (BBC, 2010), ‘Alexander’s Greatest Battle’ (THC, 2009), short films ‘Super Goths’ (2009), ‘Indigo’ (2009), and ‘Bound South’ (2009), and the feature film ‘Psychosis’ (2009). Freya also worked on the final two years of the UK Film Council’s Completion Fund.

Writer / Presenter

James Holland

An internationally recognised historian, writer, and broadcaster.

He is author of the best-selling Fortress Malta, Battle of Britain,  Dam Busters, Normandy ’44 and Sicily ’43 he has also written nine works of historical fiction, five of which feature the heroic Jack Tanner, a soldier of the Second World War.

He is currently writing a three-volume new history of the Second World War in the West. The first two volumes are out now:
The War in the West: Germany Ascendant, 1939-1941 
The War in the West: The Allies Fight Back, 1941-1943

He regularly appears on television and radio, and has written and presented the BAFTA-shortlisted documentaries
Battle of Britain: The Real Story and
Dam Busters: The Race to Smash the German Dams,
as well as Battle for Malta, Cold War, Hot Jets,
Normandy ’44: The Battle Beyond D-Day, and the new three-part series, Normandy ’44: D-Day and the Battle for France.

He is a regular contributor to National Geographic‘s global smash Nazi Megastructures and HISTORY‘s Hunting Hitler.

James has also co-written the screenplay and is currently producing The Burning Sky, a feature film set in wartime Malta.

James is co-founder and Programme Director of the hugely successful Chalke Valley History Festival.

He has his own collection at the Imperial War Museum and is Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

He is also an avid cricketer, and plays for both Chalke Valley CC and the Authors CC.

Between 2017 and 2020, James held a fixed term position as a Non-Executive Director of Bright Button, helping to steer the company’s progress strategy. We continue to work very closely with James on projects through Bright Button and also our joint venture company, Typhoon Pictures, of which James is a Director.

Click to visit
Griffon Merlin – James Holland’s Second World War Forum

Head of Drama

Caleb Ranson

Caleb has created and written some of the biggest successes on UK television in recent years. For ITV, critically acclaimed soap ‘Night and Day‘, drama series ‘Take Me‘ and ‘Distant Shores‘, romantic comedy features ‘Heartless‘ and ‘Me & Mrs. Jones‘, crime caper ‘Diamond Geezer‘, and the hard hitting thrillers ‘Child Of Mine‘, ‘If I Had You‘ and ‘Forgotten‘. His credits for the BBC include ‘Young James Herriot‘ and ‘First Light‘.

Caleb is currently developing a slate of projects under the Bright Button label including films based on ‘The Hardy Players’ and Dan Waddell’s book ‘Field of Shadows.’

 

Development Researcher

Ella Marsh

Edit Assistant

Josh Fletcher