the media lunch club was established in 1994, by producer Martin Cahill, as a non-profit making, and politically neutral, networking society and has grown to become the film, tv and media industry's premiere café du commerce.
Monthly lunches are held in London's West End (and a Brighton away-day lunch during the summer), with an invited guest speaker. Some of our previous speakers include:
Producers: Tim Bevan, Stephen Evans, Rebecca O'Brien, Nick Manzi, Richard Holmes, Jeremy Thomas, Duncan Kenworthy, Michael Kuhn, Nik Powell, Marc Samuelson, Richard Holmes, Michael Deeley, Simon Channing-Williams, Simon Oakes (Hammer films), Paul Brett, Anne Beresford and Jeremy Bolt.
Directors: Sir Alan Parker, Dame Beeban Kidron, Stuart Baird, Waris Hussein, Roy Ward Baker, Vic Armstrong, Robert Young, Jack Cardiff, Ronnie Neame, Lewis Gilbert, John Glen, Guy Hamilton and Ray Harryhausen and John Irvin.
Executives: Daniel Battsek (former Film4 and Miramax), Duncan Reid (Ingenious), Greg Dyke (TV), Ian Hutchinson (Silver Reel), Lord Michael Grade, Amanda Nevill (BFI), Stewart Till (former UK Film Council Chairman), Lenny Crooks (formerly of New Cinema Fund, UK Film Council), David Thompson (formerly BBC Films), Steve Christian (Pinewood Films), Peter Bennett-Jones (Tiger Aspect), Dave Bishop (Protagonist), John Woodward (former CEO, UK Film Council), Jane Lighting (former CEO Channel 5), Simon George (Ealing Studios Productions), Lorraine Heggesey (ITV/BBC), Dr Kim Howells MP & Shaun Woodward MP (former Film Ministers), Sara Geater (all 3 media) and Robert Duval, David Cooke & David Austin (directors of BBFC), Mia Bays (BFI), Anna Higgs (Facebook) and Elliot Grove (Raindance).
Sales agents: Hilary Davis (Bankside), Mike Goodridge (Protagonist), Martin Myers (Miracle Communications), Andrew Loveday (Carnaby), Maura Ford (7 & 7), Alex Hamilton (former E One, now Pathe), David Grumbach (Juliette Films, Luxembourg), Michael Ryan (formerly J&M, now independent).
Actors: Sir Roger Moore, Britt Ekland, Honor Blackman, Judy Cornwell, Jenny Hanley, Sally Geeson, Virginia McKenna, Ray Brooks, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Bruce Montagu, Brian Capron, Victor Spinetti, Richard Kiel, Madeline Smith and Dame Virginia McKenna.
Writers: Dick Clement, Sir Ronald Harwood, Rob Sprackling, Jimmy Perry, Brian Clemens, Raymond Allen, Jimmy Sangster, Allan Scott, Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran and Dominic Minghella.
And others including: lyricist Don Black CBE, broadcasters Tony Blackburn OBE and Dame Joan Bakewell, director of photography Phil Méheux BSC, Ossie Morris OBE and composer David Arnold. …. to name but a few!
The media lunch club also hosts occasional evening networking events, from 2009 additional and occasional 'Briefing Lunches', (to focus on a more specialised subject in an intimate board-room setting) and during the Coronavirus pandemic switched to online podcasts, with guests in discussion with committee member and broadcaster Olly Smith.
Membership is inexpensive and open to all in the media business.
On April 19th 2013 Sir Alan Parker joined us for our 200th lunch, and cut the special birthday cake!
In over 65 years in broadcasting, David Hamilton has hosted thousands of radio shows and television shows, including his now hugely popular daily show on Boom Radio.
While at school he became a columnist on the weekly national magazine Soccer Star and upon leaving school became a script-writer for the TV series Portrait of a Star, and then an in-vision television announcer for ABC Weekend TV based in Didsbury, Manchester, where he also appeared with close friend Ken Dodd in the TV series Doddy's Music Box, acquiring the nickname 'Diddy'.
When ABC closed down in 1968, he transferred to its successor company Thames Television as an announcer, and subsequently hosted many shows and also appeared alongside comedians Benny Hill and Tommy Cooper. For BBC TV, he hosted Top of the Pops, Seaside Special and the Eurovision Song Contest Previews. Additionally, and for seven years, he was the main host of one of the earliest satellite TV stations, Lifestyle.
Meanwhile David made his radio broadcasting debut with the British Forces Network in Cologne in Germany during his national service in 1959 and later appeared on the BBC Light Programme - he presented the final edition of Housewives' Choice in 1967 – before first being heard on BBC Radio 1 in November 1967 … that led to his own Radio 1 weekday afternoon show from 2 pm to 5 pm. In November 1977, the show moved to Radio 2 and he remained with the station until he quit at the end of 1986, stating that the music policy had become Geriatric, as the then head of music Frances Line had decided to change programming to reflect that of the old Light Programme.
Since 1987, David Hamilton has been heard on many commercial stations in the UK including Capital Gold, the Breakfast show on Melody FM (now Magic 105.4) for four years before moving to London's Liberty Radio to present an afternoon show and Classic Gold Network on a Sunday.
More recently in February 2021, he started a daily lunchtime show with Boom Radio, the national DAB station aimed at the baby boom generation. On stage David has compered shows by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Cassidy and many other pop acts. He is also the author of six books: the most recent being his autobiography The Long and Winding Road (2024).
Along with being one of the nicest people in showbusiness, he’s one of the funniest too!
