S3 E9: Channel 5 boss Ben Frow on reaching the top of TV: ‘I’m riddled with insecurity, doubt and fear’
Big Fish with Spencer Matthews
Global
4.8 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 12 December 2023
⏱️ 68 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ben Frow is the definition of a big fish in the TV world. He’s Paramount’s UK content chief - he’s responsible for all of their content in the UK, including being the boss of Channel 5.
He’s known as an outsider in the TV world. He doesn’t have a degree, he’s not a member of any exclusive clubs and started his career as a stylist for Richard and Judy on This Morning. He worked his way to the top without ever applying for a job.
He transformed Channel 5’s reputation and boosted its audience by commissioning more history, documentaries and drama and railed against an extremely snobby industry.
In this conversation we talk about his fear of rejection and why he secretly quit his job last year due to burnout. If you’ve ever wanted an insider's perspective into the multi-billion pound TV industry, this is a must-listen.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Looking for a reason to plan your next trip. |
| 0:02.0 | Well, Premier Inn has over a million rooms at 45 pounds a night. |
| 0:06.0 | So that's a million reasons to tick wild winter swimming off the bucket list. |
| 0:10.0 | A million reasons to book in for a family visit to the theatre. |
| 0:14.0 | And a million reasons to bond with your team away from the office. |
| 0:18.0 | Do your thing. Get better sleep for your money. |
| 0:22.3 | With over a million rooms for 45 pounds a night. |
| 0:25.0 | Book now at premier in.com. |
| 0:27.2 | Selected locations. |
| 0:28.3 | Exclusions and tis and seas apply. |
| 0:32.1 | This is a global player original podcast. |
| 0:35.8 | I'm riddled with insecurity and doubt and fear, fear that I've peaked, fear that I'm on the downward track, fear that I can't do it anymore, fear that I'm an old white man in television, fear, fear, fear, fear, fear. |
| 0:47.0 | But, you know, fear's a huge motivator. |
| 0:54.1 | Welcome to Big Fish with me, Spencer Matthews. |
| 0:56.7 | Each week I speak to inspirational people about how they reach the top of their game and their mindset for success. |
| 1:04.4 | Ben Frou is the definition of a big fish in the TV world. |
| 1:07.9 | He's Paramount UK's content chief, which means that he's responsible for all of their |
| 1:11.7 | content in the UK, including being the boss of Channel 5. He made his name as the outspoken and |
| 1:16.9 | competitive boss of the channel, transforming its reputation and boosting its audience. He previously |
| 1:22.0 | oversaw features and factual entertainment at Channel 4, but he actually never set out to be a TV |
| 1:26.8 | executive. He started out as a stylist to Richard and Judy on this morning and worked his way up the ranks, |
| 1:32.3 | having never applied for a single job. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Global, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Global and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.