Sarah Asante. Development Strategist and Former BBC & UKTV Network Exec

Twenty years inside
Film & TV

For over twenty years I worked inside British television. For ten of those years I was making scripted development decisions at the BBC and UKTV, sitting across from writers, evaluating pitches, and deciding which projects moved forward and which did not.

I have greenlit BAFTA-winning comedy. I developed the pilot of Dreaming Whilst Black, later picked up by A24 and Showtime. I have championed writers who had no obvious route into the industry and watched them break through anyway.
Industry credentials

BAFTA mentor & consultant

Long-term consultant for BAFTA, including advisor on the TV committee and the Elevate programme for emerging talent.

BFI film and TV pitch mentor

Mentoring international filmmakers through the BFI, helping them position their work for English-language markets.

Edinburgh TV Festival

Producing landmark sessions since 2022, including the first Fellowship awarded to Shonda Rhimes in 2025.

Why I built Asante Space

When BAFTA invited me to advise on their Elevate programme, I realised how much of what I had learned inside those rooms was not reaching the writers who needed it most.

The industry does not explain its own rules. Development decisions are made on criteria that are never published, in conversations that writers are not part of. I built Asante Space to change that.

I am not a writing coach. I am a development strategist who helps serious writers and producers understand how this industry actually works, and position their work to move within it.

Get Started Now