Creator Lab Australia: BBC Studios names first cohort – BBC Studios has selected 18 Australian YouTube creators for its first Creator Lab Australia, a Sydney-based initiative supported by SBS and Screen NSW.
The program brings digital-first creators into workshops with commissioners, production leaders and specialists from across the screen sector. BBC Studios says it wants to combine each creator’s originality and existing audience relationship with the company’s development experience, production craft and international reach.
For Australia’s screen industry, Creator Lab Australia highlights the increasingly direct path from online channels to larger intellectual property, formats and franchises. It also gives established commissioners and producers a structured way to meet creators who already understand how to build communities around their work.
First Creator Lab Australia launches in Sydney
Creator Lab Australia launched in Sydney this week. Participants joined hands-on sessions and workshops designed to strengthen their skills, industry connections and long-term career options.
BBC Studios is delivering the program with Changer Studios and BBC Studios TalentWorks. SBS and Screen NSW are supporting the initiative.
The sessions cover practical questions facing digital creators who want to expand their work. Those include scaling a channel, understanding how commissioners assess ideas, developing sustainable brands and adapting concepts for audiences across multiple platforms.
Industry contributors include Georgia Mappin, managing director of Haven’t You Done Well Productions, the company connected with Aunty Donna and Grouse House. Beast Games showrunner Matt Apps and Spawnpoint Media chief operating officer Mads Brown are also taking part. Brown’s work includes the EYstreem and Milo & Chip brands.
Other speakers include Ludo Studio assistant digital producer Joe van Vugt, whose credits include Bluey, and Christiaan Van Vuuren. Van Vuuren co-directed Bondi Hipsters and directed BBC Studios Australia Productions titles Ghosts and The Office Australia.
The 18 Australian creators selected
The first cohort spans wildlife, education, filmmaking, food, travel, comedy, science, magic and documentary storytelling. The selected creators are:
- Bridget Thomson, creator of Bridgy Didge – Wildlife Educator
- Dario Nadile
- Dylan Bray, creator of Ozzie – Educational Videos For Kids
- Ella Watkins
- Jack Ovens, creator of Chef Jack Ovens
- Jamie Perkins
- Jay Harwood, creator of Bucket List Travellers
- Jordan Pena, creator of Bench Chicken
- Lee Constable, creator of Constababble
- Maddie Massy
- Mary McGillivray
- Ming Dao Ting, creator of Tingman
- Dr Naomi Koh Belic
- Saksham Sharma, creator of Saksham Magic
- Thomas Ashton, creator of Thomas Ashton Documentaries
- Tilly Oddy-Black
- Toby Hendy, creator of Tibees
- Granny Flat Comedy
BBC Studios targets new Australian brands and ideas
Kylie Washington, executive vice-president and creative director of BBC Studios Australia Productions, said the calibre of creators, partners and experts gave the program a strong starting point.
Washington described Creator Lab as a dedicated home for creator relationships. She said the program brings creators, intellectual property and industry experience together to help shape the next generation of Australian storytelling.
Helen O’Donnell, vice-president of content and creators at BBC Studios Digital Division, said TalentWorks starts from the view that strong ideas can come from anywhere. She said Creator Lab connects the authenticity and audience relationships of Australian creators with BBC Studios’ development capability and global reach.
That combination is central to the program’s ambition. Participants are not starting without an audience. Many already operate established channels and brands, while the workshops focus on how those foundations could support broader formats and long-running intellectual property.
SBS and Screen NSW back new pathways
SBS director of television Kathryn Fink welcomed the range of creators in the cohort. She said the partnership gives SBS an opportunity to support new voices, meet creators who are building active communities and explore different forms of storytelling.
Screen NSW executive director Kylie Munnich said the initiative reflects the agency’s commitment to talent development across different routes into the screen sector. She pointed to skills, mentoring and industry connections as important elements in building sustainable careers.
Georgia Mappin said creators already build global audiences, brands and intellectual property with genuine cultural and commercial value. In her view, combining those strengths with the development expertise and infrastructure of the traditional screen industry can create the next generation of Australian content businesses.
Mappin also framed the two sectors as complementary rather than separate. Creator Lab Australia is designed to create the working relationships needed to move ideas between digital communities, commissioners and larger production environments.
What happens after Creator Lab Australia?
A number of participants will progress to one-on-one mentoring after the initial program. BBC Studios says further specialist workshops will focus on content development, audience engagement, multi-platform growth and the creation of intellectual property that can travel internationally.
The company has not yet announced which creators will move into that next phase. The first week therefore acts both as a development program for the full group and as an opportunity to identify ideas that could benefit from longer-term support.
For more TV Central BBC news, head here. Learn more about the company at BBC Studios Australia.
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