A Stellar Appointment to a Growing Channel 

Serena Martin, Head of Strategy at BBC Worldwide.

8 ^th of March, London – In an industry where gender and diversity equality are under the spotlight, broadcaster Together chooses not just to raise awareness, but to act on it.

Inspiring industry leader - On International Women Day, The Community Channel, the charity Community Benefit Society that operates  Together, is celebrating the appointment of Serena Martin to its Board of Trustees. Serena is Head of Strategy at BBC Worldwide, leading on strategic acquisitions and key partnerships across BBC Worldwide. Previously to this she worked in Sky’s commercial finance team, and she was a strategy consultant ahead of joining Sky. Serena has been supporting Together on its strategic and business modelling, and joins industry peers from Arqiva, Channel 4 and Sky on the Board.  
 

Serena Martin said: “I am delighted to be joining the Board at such an exciting time in Together’s development. Our goal is to encourage people across the UK to do more for themselves and for others. The potential for great content, from BBC Worldwide along with our other partners, to activate viewers into creating social change, is something I am looking forward to championing.”  
 

Caroline Diehl, Chair of Together said: “Serena brings a brilliant mix of commercial and strategic acumen along with leading expertise on content, marketing and distribution, drawn from working for BBC Worldwide and Sky. On behalf of the Board we welcome Serena as she joins other media industry representatives from our partners Arqiva, Channel 4 and Sky, along with our trustees elected from our membership and appointed from the voluntary sector. Five of our eleven trustees are women and we are doing all we can to improve gender equality and diversity in our governance, channel team, and the creative talent and charities we work with both off-screen and on-screen.“  
 

Along with Serena’s appointment, Together is marking International Women's Day with a marathon of Kitchen Sink to Catwalk, the series that reminds us that there are no limits for women who are ambitious and want to make a difference in their lives. Kitchen Sink to Catwalk is a fashion contest for the over forties, but is much more - it is also a self-esteem path for all the participants, building their confidence in a world dominated by youth. Kitchen Sink to Catwalk episodes 1-4 broadcast on Thursday 8 March and episode 5 premieres the next day, on Friday at 10pm.

About Serena Martin

Serena is currently Head of Strategy at BBC Worldwide, working on strategic acquisitions and key partnerships in the UK.  She previously had Commercial and Group / Corporate Finance roles at Sky, working on key content deals with US Studios and digital growth strategies.  Her background is in management consultancy at Deloitte.  She brings extensive media industry experience as well as strategic, commercial and financial expertise. Serena has been informally supporting the channel over the past year with long term strategic planning, as well as securing great BBC Worldwide content for the channel aunch.

About Kitchen Sink to Catwalk

6 episodes, 1 hour each. 
 

This is a reality TV show, with a difference. There are 6 women in their 40’s who decide to turn their lives around. Stylist Scott Henshall transforms six middle-aged housewives into catwalk queens, awarding one of them a professional modelling contract. Going against the typical trend in fashion, this series sets out to prove that just because you’re over 40, it doesn’t mean you’re past it, even in an industry dominated by youth. During the series, six women live together, as they complete a series of modelling activities designed to help them make the transition from Kitchen Sink to Catwalk. Working together through self-esteem issues to understanding that a journey shared is always better. These are stories that unfold under the premise of a competition. What does it take to be the best? 
 

On air on Fridays at 10pm on Together (Freeview HD 93 - FreeviewHD 93  -  Sky 539  -  Virgin TV 269  -  freesat 164). New episodes weekly on Fridays.

Series synopsis episode by episode available upon request.

About Together   

Together is the ‘do more’ TV channel. Optimistic, encouraging and celebrating the quirks of British life, we motivate viewers to do more for themselves and those around them through smartly-entertaining series and motivating documentaries.  
 

Available 24-hours-a-day, our programming is geared around wellbeing (Better Together), creativity (Make Together) and community (Get Together).   
 

Together broadcasts 24-hours on Freeview 93, Sky 539, Virgin 269 and freesat 164, and available streamed and on-demand through Togeher website, TVPlayer, DailyMotion, YouTube, Facebook and BT TV. 
 

Together is owned by over two hundred individual shareholders with a wider group of donors and backers including Sky, Big Lottery Fund, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Channel 4, ITV, BBC, Unltd and Social Investment Business 
 

Together’s launch has been supported by gifted media inventory from companies in the public service broadcasting, channel groups, newspaper groups and tech giants. 
 

To receive Together on Freeview, viewers will need to be within coverage and be watching through Freeview HD or Freeview Play devices. Some viewers may need to retune.