Above the Title is one of the UK’s leading radio production companies. Our productions are broadcast predominantly by the BBC and cover almost every genre of radio programming. The quality of our programmes has been frequently recognised by the radio industry’s most prestigious awards juries and is also reflected in the status and reputation of the many writers, artists and other contributors with whom we work.
DIRK MAGGS
Dirk Maggs is a freelance director & writer across the popular media. Dirk has finished the job of adapting, directing and co-producing the brand new Above The Title/BBC Radio 4 series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Also recently, Pathé Pictures released the animated feature film of the cult TV show, The Magic Roundabout, for which Dirk directed principal voice sessions with Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Jim Broadbent and Joanna Lumley. Dirk voice-directed and sound-designed the worldwide hit series The Animated Mr Bean starring Rowan Atkinson for Tiger Aspect Animation. Dirk’s many awards include the 2002 BEST COMEDY from the SPOKEN WORD PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION for GOON AGAIN, his dramatisation of VOYAGE, Dr Stephen Baxter’s best-selling novel was awarded the 2000 Sony Bronze Award for Best Drama. It also won the TALKIE Award for Best Use Of Music. He was recently awarded the 2004 Mark Time Grand Master Lifetime Achievement Award For Science Fiction Radio, and this year Dirk was among the nominees for the 2005 Directors Guild Of Great Britain Awards' first ever Outstanding Achievement in Radio Category.
Dirk has worked regularly with Above The Title Productions since the company’s formation. Productions he has worked on include three AGATHA CHRISTIE short stories for BBC Radio 4, with casts including Adrian Dunbar, Richard Griffiths and Dervla Kirwan and in July 2002 he directed the critically acclaimed Above The Title/BBC Radio 4 sitcom, NIGHT CLASS, for Johnny Vegas.
PETE ATKIN
After a spell in the music business and then writing for radio, TV, and theatre, Pete joined BBC Radio Light Entertainment as a producer and worked on classic programmes such as MY WORD, MY MUSIC, JUST A MINUTE, and WEEK ENDING, and then went on to make many programmes which can now be heard again on BBC7 -- Simon Brett's award-winning AFTER HENRY (starring Prunella Scales), LEGAL DECENT HONEST AND TRUTHFUL, and the late great Peter Tinniswood's UNCLE MORT series, among many others. After moving to Bristol and then leaving the BBC to become freelance, he has continued to produce an ever wider range of features and dramas, as well as readings and comedies. Again among many others, he has been the producer of Martin Jarvis's renowned JUST WILLIAM readings for twenty years now, but his biggest project to date has been all 306 episodes of Radio 4's monumental history of Britain, THIS SCEPTRED ISLE (with another 90 episodes focusing on the empire still to come later in 2005). In amongst all of this he still manages to pursue his revived musical career (revived mainly through the internet), still writing songs with Clive James (yes, that Clive James), and occasionally touring the UK and Australia in their two-man show.
His work for Above the Title includes POTTERMANSHIP with Stephen Fry, THE WOMAN WHO INVENTED SITCOM, ANYTHING YOU CAN DO, Frederic Raphael’s THE GLITTERING PRIZES and SOMETHING IN THE AIR with playwright Peter Nichols.
DAVID PERRY
David was a BBC Radio Producer for 15 years and Chief Producer for 6 years. He specialises in politics, foreign affairs, history, culture, the arts and jazz. He received a PRIX ITALIA nomination for HARLEM SPEAKS in 1983 and produced series about INDIA, SOUTH East Asia, French West Africa, THE HIMALAYAS, INDONESIA and THE PHILLIPINES. David turned freelance in 1990. He produced BBC Radio 3’s millennium series JAZZ CENTURY and wrote the feature JEAN TOOMER (Producer Piers Plowright), and JAZZ GREATS published by Phaidon in 1996. His films include LIVING MUSIC, a series for Channel 4 on the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and a documentary about transmigration in Indonesia for the Channel 4 series THE SAVAGE STRIKES BACK. He also wrote the script for the 2 part FRAGILE EARTH on the Camargue (C4, 1992), and for the follow up series, ENCOUNTER, about the Thames.
His work for Above the Title includes a three part JAZZ FILE about OSCAR PETERSON, the Radio 4 series INSIDE THE BAR, GEORGE ON GEORGE, a feature about George Formby, CHEKHOV’S THEATRE OF DREAMS, HILDE SPEER, THE SINS OF THE FATHERS, THE 100 CLUB, Courtney Pine’s JOY OF SAX and a programme featuring a VOODOU ceremony in Haiti.
NEIL ROSSER
Neil Rosser has produced around 80 series and one-offs for Radio 2 over the last 10 years, in a variety of genres, including drama, comedy and music documentary. He has worked with many, diverse artists such as Eartha Kitt, George Melly, Mel Brooks, Michael Ball, Steve Winwood, Barry Manilow, Punt and Dennis, Bob Newhart and Linda Ronstadt and interviewed literally hundreds of artists of all kinds, from Noel Gallagher to Peter Wyngarde.
He's produced hundreds of hours of live programmes for Radio 2 and a few for Radio 3; he was editor for two years of the first independent strand on Radio 2, the Judi Spiers show. For Radio 4 he's produced comedy, documentaries and readings, including the award-winning Archy and Mehitabel with Eartha Kitt.
For Channel 5 he was series editor of nearly 80 hours of travel and local history programming and worked on an Eclipse special for ITN.
His work for Above the Title includes THE ROUNDHOUSE, THE PARADE’S GONE BY featuring Kevin Brownlow’s archive of silent cinema, THE KINKS STORY and THE BYRDS. Upcoming up projects include CONKED OUT, BILKO, THE MONOLOGISTS & PERELMAN.
ANNE-MARIE COLE
Anne-Marie Cole is an experienced network radio producer. She joined BBC Radio 4 as a staff researcher in 1982. In l985 she moved to Pebble Mill as a general features producer, producing documentaries and features and readings for radio 4. In l996, after living in America for two years, she became a freelance producer and now produces programmes for Radio 2, 3 and 4. Her recent credits for Radio 4 include OPEN BOOK with Marielle Frostrup, EXCESS BAGGAGE with Sandi Toksvig, PICK OF THE WEEK and the hugely successful WORD OF MOUTH with Michael Rosen. In addition to this, she has also produced three series of WORK IN PROGRESS for Radio 3 and has worked with Harry Enfield on WELCOME TO MY WIRELESS.
For Above the Title, Anne-Marie produces Radio 4’s flagship legal discussion series UNRELIABLE EVIDENCE VIII, presented by Clive Anderson. Upcoming projects include LAW AFTER THE BLOC.