Creative industry leaders honoured at inaugural ‘CCC Champions Awards’ in Liverpool

The inaugural ‘CCC Champions Awards’, proudly sponsored by Liverpool FC Foundation took place in Liverpool.

With leading industry figures John McVay, Donna Taberer, Ruth Pitt and Lynn Saunders named as the first recipients of the new honour.

The awards brought the first day of the 2026 Creative Cities Convention, being held in Liverpool this year, to a fitting conclusion.

Lisa Campbell, Creative Cities Convention director said:

“We’ve been showcasing a number of legends on stage throughout this convention, so what a fitting finale it is to recognise four renowned and respected figures who have dedicated their careers to making the industry a better, fairer and more inclusive place. These inaugural CCC Champions Awards will inspire others to follow in their footsteps.”

John McVay was Chief Executive of Pact from 2000 until he recently stepped down from the role in March of this year. He contributed to many UK government and international policy fora on the creative industries, broadcasting, trade and investment. 

He has been a board member of the Creative Diversity Network and Creative Cities Convention, and a member of the Creative Industries Council (CIC), as well as involved as an industry advisor to the AHRC Creative Industries programme and industry board member of the British Film Commission.

Donna Taberer enjoyed a long career as a TV producer and former head of entertainment at Channel 5 and is currently a leader and training expert. With a strong track record in initiating, devising and launching award winning industry events and interventions with impact and scale as a recognised strategic thinker and deliverer She was also named as one of the 50 Leading Lights in the Kindness and Leadership Awards 2025.

Ruth Pitt is the co-founder of the Creative Cities Convention and a media executive specialising in the strategic development of the film and TV sector outside London. She is a former head of documentaries at Granada Television, creative director of documentaries at the BBC and head of factual at Tiger Aspect Productions. She has founded two media companies and was executive director of Screen England at a crossroads in its development and is an IPC trained journalist and former radio and television reporter. 

Lynn Saunders is the current head of Liverpool Film Office and a highly respected management professional with 35 years’ experience developing the UK’s film & TV sector. Saunders has led the strategic development of Liverpool City Council’s Liverpool Film Office since 2000 and is responsible for creating a thriving production hub and making Liverpool the 2nd most filmed city in the UK.  

In recorded tributes, luminaries from across the industry spoke of the award winner’s impact and achievements:

Kate Phillips, chief content officer at the BBC, on John McVay:

‘Many congratulations to John on this well-deserved award. Not only has he done so much for the indie sector over the years, but he has also done so much for the growth of those indies across the UK. They really have thrived as a result of a large part of the work that you’ve done. And we can’t thank you enough. You are brilliant, you are forthright, you’re opinionated, you’re slightly terrifying, and you’re going to be hugely missed by us all. You do have very big shoes to fill.’

Actor, comedian and founder of Hat Trick Productions, Jimmy Mulville, on Lynn Saunders:

‘She’s led the UK’s most successful film office since 2019, turning Liverpool into the country’s top film city outside London. She built two studios from scratch and is now reviving the Woods building into a state-of-the-art studio complex—with a sixth-form school inside to train young people for careers in the creative industries. Warm, tough, resourceful, and famously no-nonsense, she’s a perfect example of what makes Liverpool special. Oh, and she’s also a great mum—her son supports Everton. Need I say more? Congratulations.’

Dame Esther Rantzen on Donna Taberer: 

“I first met Donna when she joined the That’s Life team in 1990. We all wanted to make the world fairer but it was very clear that she was supreme at it. She has gone far beyond what’s expected of her in supporting hundreds of other people like her without connections who just had their talent to recommend them. She has shaped countless careers and created a more inclusive television industry. Donna doesn’t just make programmes. She actually changes lives.”

TV Presenter, Kirsty Wark, on Ruth Pitt:

“What you’ve achieved from supporting and championing television right across the UK to mentoring so many people into the industry and to connecting and developing those already in it, what you’ve done and then the creative cities convention you started that with John big V, how fantastic. Many congratulations for a brilliant human being.”

Find out more about CCC Champions Awards here.

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