Sir Lenny Henry is an icon of stage and screen.  

He has been in the entertainment industry for over 40 years and is one of the best known and most highly respected actors and producers of his generation.  

As one of the co-founders and public face of Comic Relief, he has played a central role in the charity raising over £1 billion since 1985.

A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in the arts, he established a centre for Media Diversity at Birmingham City University. 

He set up Esmerelda Productions in January 2024 to nurture under-represented voices and create mainstream work of excellence. 

Jon is joint MD and executive producer of Esmerelda Productions, committed to nurturing the next generation of under-represented voices.

Over his career, he has written and directed over 40 hours of prime-time drama, including directing C4’s ground-breaking Second Generation.

He became the executive producer of EastEnders in 2019 moved to Casualty in 2022 where he has won numerous awards including two BAFTAs. 

He now works with Lenny Henry building a diverse drama slate that appeals to the global mainstream. 

Jennifer started her career in theatre, producing and performing with internationally acclaimed experimental company GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN. She subsequently spent 9 years working for SEX EDUCATION producers Eleven Film as Head of Development, driving development across a broad and ambitious slate. While at Eleven, Jennifer was part of the development team behind TEN POUND POMS (BBC One). Production credits include GAP YEAR (E4), TRUE HORROR (C4) and STAGS (Paramount Plus). 

Simon was previously Story Producer at Eleven Film, working on STAGS (Paramount Plus), RED ROSE (BBC / Netflix) and WHITE STORK. Before that, Simon was Script Executive on the development of ORIGIN for Left Bank / YouTube Premium, having script edited series one. Prior to this, Simon worked at Slim film + television, developing and script editing THE ART OF FOLEY. Before joining Slim, Simon started his career as a runner a Kudos.  

Becca joined Esmerelda as a Senior Development Executive in 2025 from PEAKY BLINDERS producers Caryn Mandabach Productions, where she worked as a Development Executive for three years. Before this, she worked at Ecosse Films, first as a Producer’s Assistant and Research Assistant on THE TRIAL OF CHRISTINE KEELER (BBC One), and then as a Development Executive across both the film and TV slates. Prior to this, she was a Production Assistant on the BAFTA-nominated documentary KINGDOM OF US (Netflix). 

A lucky break catapulted Kirstie from ceramic artist into the world of advertising as a TV commercials Production Manager. A progression to Producer took Kirstie around the world working on high end campaigns for some of the industry's leading UK Advertising Agencies, Directors and Production Companies, and a Film4 initiative comedy short film 'Harold The Amazing Contortionist Pig'. Kirstie supported Lenny Henry as EA and was Office Manager and Development Coordinator at Douglas Road Productions prior to joining Esmerelda.