Hot Shots 2023: Ameenah Taher

Ameenah Taher has returned to development (where she began her career), but it’s as a UK creative exec for YouTube Originals that her skills have been deployed for the past two years.

As independent lead for the UK since May 2022, she oversaw the end-to-end creative process: sourcing YouTube series ideas to build the UK slate, granting paid developments, securing greenlights and leading on all aspects of production, from shoot plans to casting, edit, marketing materials and launch. Her commissions spans fact ent formats to purposedriven docs and live specials, including The Mandela Project, Road To Afro Nation: Davido Live and Seat At The Table: Climate Anxiety.

Breaking into the industry with a placement on Endemol Shine’s Brightbulb internship scheme, Taher worked her way up through researcher and assistant producer roles to clock up a string of credits in development. Most notably, her own doc topline idea, hip-hop series Legends Never Die, was commissioned as a BBC3 series and a BBC Sounds podcast.

She also helped steer the development of Label1’s Broadcast Award-winning and Bafta-nominated ITV1 specialist factual series Worlds Collide: The Manchester Bombing, plus the indie’s BBC1 army ob doc Soldier: Made In Yorkshire.

Gold Wala managing director Faraz Osman, who worked with her on a development project, describes Taher as “a genuine joy to work with”.

“With a real understanding of the next generation of audiences, she has proved to be a true asset to the future of our industry,” he says.

In her new role at Red Bull Media House, she aims to combine her commissioning experience, audience insights and eye for talent.