Everybody has a story... this is ours:
Darrell Brown
Managing Director
Prior to launching Whats the Story Sounds, Darrell was a busy TV executive producer of documentaries, with a wide range of factual programmes for major broadcasters under his belt. These include films on cases such as the Shannon Matthews disappearance, the coastal-path murders in wales, an investigation into the treatment of child-killer Jon Venables, and investigative episodes for Channel 4’s Dispatches flagship strand.
Darrell has filmed around the world and endeavours to give a unique perspective on factual stories, many of which haven’t been told before.
Sophie Ellis
Creative Director
Before establishing What’s The Story Sounds, Sophie worked in factual television production for 15 years. In telly-land, she developed and produced programmes for the majority of major broadcasters including C4, the BBC, Discovery and Sky, covering a broad range of topics, from criminal law to acid attacks, preventable illnesses in children, and the first all-Muslim girls cricket team. Sophie is also a writer and freelance journalist; her articles have featured in publications including The Guardian, The Independent, Psychologies, and The Sunday Times.
David Waters
Head of Narrative
David is a multi-award winning journalist and audio producer, specialising in character focused narrative documentary series, incl Suspect, The SuperHero Complex, Witnessed: Borderlands and Deliver Us From Ervil.
Previously David established and ran Europe’s largest longform audio documentary department at the production house Novel, leading a team of producers and editors who were responsible for a series of global chart topping narrative series including The Girlfriends, Harsh Reality, Filthy Ritual and Stolen Hearts making work for Apple, Gimlet, Wondery, Audible, iHeart and Sony.
In over two decades at international news and audio companies such as The Campside Media, the Guardian, ABC, the BBC and the Associated Press, David’s work has been recognised with awards including - Signal Audio Award for best writing, Ambie award for Best True Crime Podcast, three Gold British podcast awards, a British Journalism Award and an American Journalism Online Award for best News-Based Podcast.
Jack O'Kennedy
Producer
Jack is a multimedia producer from Dublin, Ireland with a particular fondness for all things audio. Before joining What's The Story? Sounds, he spent several years working in the impossibly glamorous world of Irish business journalism, where he produced the shows 'Five Degrees of Change' and 'The Coronavirus Ireland Podcast' for The Business Post.
He hopes one day to make the leap from award nominated to award winning but would settle for never having to explain to his family what podcasts are again.
Alex Gatenby
Senior Producer
Alex moved into audio after many years working in documentaries in TV and digital. Working in both development and production, she loves to spot a good story. She has produced films for the likes of the BBC, MTV, The Guardian, and C4 across the current affairs and investigative landscape - covering topics ranging from the Russian HIV/AIDS epidemic to a forty-year-old cold case murder. But she soon got swayed by the boom in binge-worthy podcast series and the power of audio to tell a story in a whole new way. An avid fan of all things narrative, Alex is driven to find and share untold stories that speak to the voiceless and stay with the listener well beyond the last episode...
Jessica Hatcher-Moore
Development Producer
Jessica is an inveterate story-hunter who joined What’s the Story Sounds with 15 years of experience as a reporter and non-fiction writer. Jessica started her career working in factual television production in London then spent the best part of a decade chasing stories in sub-Saharan Africa, from rebellions in Eastern Congo to cocaine trafficking in Guinea Bissau. Her investigative journalism has won a number of awards, including a Frontline Club Award, and her first book, a manifesto for change about postnatal health, was published in 2020. She combines a wealth of field experience with a nose for a phenomenal tale.
Brenna Daldorph
Series Producer
Brenna is a narrative series producer, writer and journalist. She's currently based in London, though she grew up in Kansas (there's no place like home) and spent a long time in Paris. She's working with WTSS to produce her seventh narrative audio series. She reported Gay Girl Gone, an investigative series for Raw and the CBC about a missing lesbian blogger from Syria, and five series with The Times of London, including Seventeen Years, The Feud, and The Legacy of Penrhyn Castle, which she also hosted.
Before that, Brenna was a radio reporter telling human stories from around the world, including France, Kenya, Nigeria and Bangladesh. Her story on Fortuné, a kid from the wartorn Central African Republic with big dreams and a small spaghetti stand, is a PRX audience favorite and was reported with a grant from the IWMF. Her favorite part about making audio documentaries is honestly just talking to people about their feelings.
Dave Reilly
Social Media Manager
Before joining What’s The Story Sounds, Dave freelanced as a podcast manager, launching a wide range of popular podcasts in collaboration with creators from around the globe. He created podcast shows for a diverse variety of audiences, including categories such as tech news, comedy discussions, motivational self-help, and celebrity interviews.
Although it was the audio work that initially drew him into the podcasting space, he quickly realised his passion for video editing, visual design, and creating short-form social content. Now, his primary focus is to provide engaging social media content to help spread the word about exciting new podcast releases.
Ruth Bader
Development Producer
Ruth has joined What's The Story Sounds from the world of TV Development and Production. She cut her teeth on shows that championed consumer rights, and went on to work on programmes for major UK channels including BBC, ITV, C4, and Channel 5. As a film maker, she's brought the stories of amazing people to life - from pioneers of the refuge movement and bereaved families battling in court, to Holocaust survivors and Falklands War veterans.
Whether it's on the small screen, or through your headphones, she's all about getting to the heart of incredible stories.