31. Jonnie Turpie, Maverick TV

Birmingham-based Maverick Television isn't afraid to make programmes which tackle some of the less attractive sides of life.

Take one of their latest offerings - Embarrassing Illnesses for Channel 4 - which follows three doctors at a Birmingham clinic who offer treatment and sympathy to unfortunate people with a wide range of illnesses they would rather not talk about.

Everything from head lice to athlete's foot and everything - yes, everything - in between.

Not the stuff of conventional TV programmes, but then again the company founded by Jonnie Turpie in 1994 hasn't achieved its success through conventional programmes.

Maverick is an independent TV and media production company based in Heath Mill Lane. The company also has premises in London. Maverick's big successes include Channel 4's How to Look Good Naked in which style guru Gok Wan transforms plain, downtrodden ugly ducklings into shining confident swans, happy to pose naked for the camera. How Clean is Your House and 10 Years Younger also come from the Maverick stable.

A trained artist with an MA in Fine Arts, Jonnie Turpie pioneered the use of new technology in television, both in the use of small-format cameras and high-end post-production graphics. This approach led to many of Maverick's early successes, such as the Trade Secrets series and award winning docu-dramas Blazed, The Visit and Nightshift.

Jonnie is now digital media director at Maverick, exploiting opportunities created by new technology.

He is currently executive producing several strands for Teachers TV, the first ever digital
channel for professionals, and 4Talent for Channel 4.

His digital media department also manages editorial content for Location, Location, Location,
Property Ladder, Relocation Relocation and A Place in the Sun, and runs websites and blogs for these and other Channel 4 programmes.

Jonnie holds several chairman and director positions, including executive chair of Screen West Midlands. He is also vice chair of First Light Movies which funds and inspires young filmmakers from five to 18.

Founded in 2001 and funded by lottery money via the UK Film Council, First Light Movies has helped more than 12,000 budding film makers.

Jonnie's company has won a host of awards including the Royal Television Society's Best Independent
Programme award for Male, 33, Seeks Puberty, and a Creative Cities Award from Channel 4 in recognition of ongoing creative and innovative work as a regional production company.

Maverick's new media department picked up the award for Best DVD/Interactive at the 2006 Cream Advertising and Design Awards, and Maverick received top honours at the 2005 Superfest
Awards in California with its programme Happy Birthday Thalidomide.