Emily Dalton
Emily worked as a producer and director before becoming Creative Director, and then Managing Director at Banijay-owned Darlow Smithson. She has a reputation for originating and producing genre-crossing ideas like Channel 4 drama ‘The Mill’, ITV’s ‘Torvill and Dean’ and the BAFTA-winning documentary ‘Richard III: The King in the Car Park’. Emily runs Factual FIction’s non-scripted slate.
Tom Dalton
After twelve years directing and producing TV commercials & independent film, Tom moved into TV drama with ‘The Truth of Murder’ and its two sequels. Having recently delivered three-part Prime Original ‘The Greatest Show Never Made’, Tom is managing Factual Fiction’s scripted slate whilst returning to the Murder-Mystery genre to direct the first season of ZDFS, PBS & Paramount drama ‘The Puzzle Lady’.
Chamoun Issa
Co-founder Chamoun Issa is an award-winning director and writer. A graduate of the NFTS, his film ‘Bilingual’ was selected for festivals around the world, winning multiple audience awards.
His remit at Factual Fiction includes managing ideas across the scripted slate, and developing relationships with new and diverse writing talent. As a disabled creator, Chamoun is a champion of disability both on and off screen.
Patrick Irwin
Co-founder Patrick Irwin is an executive producer with 25 years experience in the media sector and unrivalled expertise in international co-production.
His most recent work has been on Apple TV’s ‘Liaison’, AMC’s ‘The Vanishing Triangle’ and the PBS Masterpiece production ‘Miss Scarlet & the Duke’, currently in its fifth season. Previous credits include multiple award winning series ‘The Fall’, ‘Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell’, and ‘Bang’.
Maiya John
A writer and poet and WORD’S FIRST finalist, Maiya has just finished writing the pilot script for Factual Fiction’s contemporary reimagining of ‘A Picture of Dorian Grey’, Oscar Wilde’s infamous 19th Century novel about self-obsession, youth and vanity. ‘#DorianGrey’ has just been announced by ZDF Studios and is targeting a Christmas 2025 release.
Prior to this Maiya wrote the adaptation of Michael Rosen’s ‘You’re Thinking about Tomatoes’.
Ashley Francis-Roy
Director Ashley Francis-Roy makes distinctive, warm and authentic films that are full of joy and humanity. His debut ‘The Real Eastenders’, was awarded the Debut Director Award by the TV Foundation. His second film, ‘Damilola: The Boy Next Door’ won Best History Documentary at the RTS awards, and Best Presenter at the Grierson’s.
In 2021, he was nominated by BAFTA for the Emerging Talent award and selected for BAFTA Breakthrough.
Brett Wilson
Brett Wilson is a UK based producer whose recent work includes the Showmax series ‘Catch Me A Killer’, Francis O’Connor’s ‘Emily’ and the hit Acorn show ‘Whitstble Pearl’. With a career spanning 25 years across film and TV, Brett has worked on a huge variety of shows including ‘Black Mirror’, ‘Life on Mars’, ‘Clocking Off’ and ‘League of Gentlemen.’
Currently producing ‘The Puzzle Lady’, Brett is also helping to oversee Factual FIction’s growing scripted slate.
Peter Hirst
Recently joining Factual Fiction as Head of Production, Pete previously worked with Emily and Tom on Amazon Prime’s ‘The Greatest Show Never Made’.
With over 15 years’ experience in delivering high quality content, across a wide range of genres, to major international broadcasters, Pete is responsible for all of Factual Fiction’s output across scripted and factual.
Jonathan Smith
Jonathan Smith is one of Britain’s most successful television directors and creative executives. He won his first two BAFTA awards for NHS drama ‘The Trust’, alongside a ground-breaking film about Autism and Asperger’s syndrome called ‘Make Me Normal’.
Jon’s work has huge range, from classic observational films like ‘The Family’, through critically-acclaimed BAFTA-winning ‘Bedlam’, to hugely popular factual entertainment like ‘Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares’. Having made films and series for the BBC, Channel 4, Amazon and Netflix, he is also the creative force behind fixed rig documentaries, creating ‘One Born Every Minute’ and ‘24 Hours in Police Custody’.
Nina Elmatzioglou
Nina works as Factual Fiction’s in-house producer, covering development, access, archive and production.
Having recently produced ‘The Greatest Show Never Made’ Nina’s previous work for Factual Fiction includes ITV biopics ‘The Queen Unseen’, its companion piece ‘Philip’, and the C5/Netflix acquisition ‘Royal Sisters’. Other credits include ‘Secret Life of the Hospital’, ‘Fast Justice’ and ‘A&E After Dark.’