Charles Parsons

Charles Andrew Parsonsis a British television producer known as the creator of the Survivor franchise.

He also created The Big Breakfast and The Word.

Career

Parsons trained as a newspaper journalist before working in television at London Weekend Television on programmes including Network 7, which won a BAFTA award for originality. Parsons co-founded production company Planet 24 with Bob Geldof and his then partner Waheed Alli. At Planet 24, Parsons created ambitious groundbreaking television programmes including The Big Breakfast, The Word, and the BBC's first programme aimed at the LGBTQ community GaytimeTV. While there he developed Survivor, but as he couldn't sell it in the UK, it first aired in Sweden as the 1997 season. Planet 24 was sold to Carlton in 1999, but the owners kept the rights to Survivor. Charlie Parsons is currently the executive producer of the American version of Survivor going into its 50th season on CBS.

Parsons has now become a theatre producer, developing and producing shows for the stage through his company Runaway Entertainment with Olivier-award-winning producer Tristan Baker. The Bob Dylan musical Girl from the North Country won Olivier and a Tony Awards. He also produced 2:22 A Ghost Story whose first outing starred Lily Allen whose casting inspired Allen's album West End Girl.

Most recently he produced The Hunger Games on Stage, which took place in a purpose built theatre in Canary Wharf built by his company Troubadour Theatres.

Parsons founded The Great BBC Campaign, set up to provide a bold ambitious new mandate for the BBC, designed to build on the success of the impartial and independent broadcasting organisation.