International Women’s Day 2026: Producer Gina Lyons on Giving to Gain in Today’s Industry

24 March 2026

London Film Academy was delighted to welcome award-winning producer Gina Lyons for a masterclass, as part of our celebrations for International Women’s Day 2026. Gina is an accomplished film and TV producer, having produced the pilot episode of BBC show In My Skin in 2018, which won the BAFTA Cymru award for Best Television Drama. She is also the founder of production company Gobby Girl Productions, which champions the work of underrepresented female and non-binary voices, particularly in the TV and comedy scene.

Gina’s career trajectory is as unconventional as they come, landing her first job on a Graham Norton So TV production by winning a reality TV competition. Gina juggled her work at So TV and additional freelance jobs with her own creative endeavours, producing feature film Breathe in 2009. After finding her footing in film and TV, Gina is currently working on a dark comedy starring Hugh Bonneville alongside her responsibilities at Gobby Girl Productions. She currently has a slate of five feature comedy scripts from emerging writers that she is looking to develop, and her sketch comedy show Gobby Girls is playing four nights at the Soho Theatre from 1 to 4 April.

Two woman standing in front of cinema screen

Starting a production company

Gina decided to start Gobby Girl Productions after an optioning deal for two scripts she was developing fell through at the last minute. After months of negotiations and delays, the day came to sign an agreement – only for Gina and her writers to be dropped by the production company.

Gina shared how this encouraged her to develop her own company:

I got a logo and a website, and I just tweeted [the news of its launch]. And then Deadline ran a story on it. So overnight, I got sent about 400 scripts. I didn’t have a financial backer, but I was working on a film at the time, so I did have something.

Gina Lyons

While Gobby Girl has a few drama productions on its slate, for Gina, the focus has largely been on developing comedy work across TV, film, radio, and digital in general. She emphasised to LFA students the immense importance of staying nimble with the mediums that entertainment is thriving on currently:

It used to be that you were a branded producer, or a film producer [and so on]. And now, people are becoming capable in all forms. I think a genre is one thing, but I know how to deliver for YouTube, TikTok, [BBC] Radio 4, or a film. That’s where we’re at, at the moment.

Gina Lyons

Woman talking to cinema room full of students

Cross-pollination in the arts

Gina’s experience across various areas of entertainment like film, TV, and theatre, has made her keenly aware of the benefits of mixing elements and IP from each together:

I think the one thing that's a problem in this industry is that stage is there, radio’s there, film’s there and TV’s there. We're all artists doing the same thing, all storytellers. So I think they should all mix more. The lines are blurring, and we should just embrace storytellers and whatever role they’re in.

Gina Lyons

Cinema full of people sitting, smiling

Advice for emerging writers

Addressing our MA Screenwriting students especially, Gina spoke about how she feels the number one thing that people can struggle with in the industry is ensuring they have a portfolio of work to show off to production companies.

Gina explained:

I think the first thing that people struggle with is showing them what you can do. If you can show them what you’ve done, it’s going to be your first thing. But your first script as a writer is never going to be the one that gets made. It’ll be a spec script, and the first short that you get made is never going to be the one that gets you the job. So you might as well have them as spec projects, and have them showcase what you are.

Gina Lyons

Another point Gina was keen to express was that, in an industry which has its fair share of disagreeable people in positions of power, the most important aspect of getting your work developed and seen is ensuring you get on well with your future collaborators:

My advice would be to see what work people do, see what their companies do, see what they’re into, and try to engage with them on LinkedIn or Instagram. Go to events. It’s just a lot of networking. Most of the time, when you develop something, you’re going to be working with them for three years. I work with a lot of first-time writers and directors, and people get very precious about their work. But TV in particular is very collaborative. You are going to have notes from everyone at that company and everyone at that channel, and you should absolutely fight for what you believe in, but you have to pick your wins.

Gina Lyons

We at LFA would like to thank Gina for coming in to chat to our students, and for being so generous with her time and forthcoming with her advice. We look forward to seeing the projects and talent coming out of Gobby Girl Productions in the years to come.