Juries

From the Royal Shakespeare Company to an artistic collaboration on the cult comedy Absolutely Fabulous, and from primetime television to best-selling author, Ruby has always brought a bald and questioning energy to everything she does. She has interviewed presidents (including the one who shall not be named) and delivered a ground-breaking TED Talk, while constantly challenging conventions on stage and screen.

Alongside her media career, Ruby holds a master’s degree in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy from Oxford University and has become one of the UK’s most prominent voices in mental health. She has reached new audiences by presenting complex neurological theories in ways that are accessible and often hilarious – but always with a serious point: we must rethink the conversation and dismantle the stigma that surrounds mental illness.

Ruby was awarded an OBE for services to mental health, holds honorary doctorates from the University of East London, Staffordshire University and Bangor University, has received a City Lit Lifetime Fellowship, and until recently was Chancellor of the University of Southhampton. Wheter on stage, on screen, or in a public life, she continues to break the mould and inspire with her irreverent, pioneering spirit.

Molly Dineen is a British documentary director, cinematographer and producer, described as “one of the leading filmmakers of her generation.” She is known for her intimate portraits of British individuals and institutions. Her BAFTA-winning films include The Lie of the Land (2007) and The Ark (1993), exploring the decline of farming and London Zoo under Thatcherism. She directed Tony Blair’s 1997 Party Election Broadcast, then Geri (1999) and Lords’ Tale (2002) on the reform of the House of Lords. In 2011, the British Film Institute released a three-volume box set of her work. Dineen studied at Bournville School of Art and the London College of Printing, where she made Sound Business (1981), about Jamaican sound systems in the UK. At the National Film and Television School she studied under Herb Di Gioia and Colin Young, and gained acclaim for her debut Home from the Hill (1987), later broadcast on BBC Two, BAFTA-nominated, and shown in 22 countries. Known for her distinctive observational style, Dineen has built a career of 45 years. Her work has been called “standing-ovation television,” and she is the recipient of many honours, including the Grierson Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jennifer Saunders is one of the iconic figures of British comedy. She first gained fame by creating and starring in the cult series Absolutely Fabulous and forming the legendary comedy duo French & Saunders with Dawn French.
On screen, she continues to surprise and delight audiences: she was recently seen in Richard Eyre’s Allelujah! and in Mike Myers’ Netflix series The Pentaverate. She has also appeared in notable productions such as Death on the Nile by Kenneth Branagh, Intelligence, The Stranger, Shrek 2, Ghosts, and Friends.
Jennifer is also an accomplished stage performer. She has taken on memorable roles in Blithe Spirit, Lady Windermere’s Fan, and more recently in Sister Act, where she plays the Mother Superior with humor and energy.
In addition, she co-hosts the acclaimed podcast Titting About with long-time partner Dawn French, sharing her witty and insightful take on the world with listeners.

Claire Chazal is a French journalist, writer and presenter.

She began her career in 1980 as a freelance reporter for Europe 1, L’Usine nouvelle and L’Expansion, then joined Le Quotidien de Paris in 1981 before moving to the economics section of Les Échos.

An iconic figure in the audiovisual scene, she was appointed senior economics reporter at France 2 in 1988 and presented the weekend TV news on TF1 from 1991 to 2015. As TF1’s news editor in 1997, she hosted election night coverage and interviewed French presidents.

She then hosted Entrée libre on France 5 (2016–2019), Passage des arts on France 2 from 2019, and Le Grand Échiquier on France 3 from 2021 onwards. On Radio Classique, she presented L’Interview de Claire Chazal from 2006 to 2018, interviewing cultural figures.

She has starred in films and television films, most often playing herself, collaborating with directors such as Alain Berberian, Danièle Thompson, Régis Wargnier, Kad Merad and Michel Denisot.

As an author, she has published Balladur, a biography (1993), the novels L’Institutrice (1997) – adapted into an award-winning television film – and À quoi bon souffrir ? (2001), as well as the autobiographical work Puisque tout passe (2018).

She hosts Public Sénat’s weekly literary programme, Au Bonheur des livres.

In Le Parisien Week-End, she writes a weekly column entitled ‘Claire Chazal’s cultural week’.

On 31 December 2003, she was appointed Chevalier of the Legion of Honour and in 2022 Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters.

Reda Kateb began his acting career in theatre, performing in both classic and contemporary plays. After appearing in the television series Spiral in 2008, Jacques Audiard oered him a role in A Prophet in 2009.

In 2010, he changed register with the comedy Pieds nus sur les limaces (Barefoot on Slugs). In 2013, he starred in seven feature films, including Zero Dark Thirty, Gare du Nord and Me, Myself and Mum. The following year, Reda Kateb entered the hospital environment in Hippocrate.

He continues his career in Hollywood in Ryan Gosling’s first film, Lost River, while continuing to act in French cinema in the drama L’Astragale and the crime thriller La Résistance de l’air. He went on to star in Les Chevaliers blancs and Arrêtez- moi là, and in 2016 he played the lead role in Les Beaux Jours d’Aranjuez. In 2017, he starred in Les Derniers Parisiens. That same year, he played Django Reinhardt in the film Django.

The actor also played a police inspector in Frères ennemis in 2018. In early 2019, he joined the cast of Le Chant du loup and Hors Normes.

On television, he plays a diplomat who falls in love with a woman accused of killing her husband in Possessions, and a BRI agent traumatised by his intervention at the Bataclan in En thérapie.

He plays a chief of sta in Les Promesses, portrays a hilarious gangster in Omar la fraise, and plays the villain in the Danish heist film L’Ultime braquage.

Rachida Brakni is a French actress, director, singer and author. After studying at the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique, she became a member of the Comédie-Française in 2001 and the following year received the César Award for Most Promising Actress and the Molière Award for Best Newcomer for her performance in Ruy Blas.

She has since pursued a career in film (Chaos, L’Outremangeur, Les Bureaux de Dieu, Neuilly sa mère !, La Ligne droite, La Cour des miracles, Houria…), television (Illégitime, Baron noir, Clean…) and theatre, where she performs both classics (Hugo, Racine, Shakespeare) and contemporary authors.

A multidisciplinary artist, she has released two albums, including Accidentally Yours (2017) with Gaëtan Roussel, and a book in 2024, Kaddour, a tribute to her father.

Rupert Everett is an actor, writer and director. He has appeared in film and TV productions including Napoleon, My Policeman, Adult Material, The Serpent Queen, Funny Woman, An Ideal Husband and My Best Friend’s Wedding.

On stage his work includes Another Country, The Vortex, Pygmalion, Amadeus and The Judas Kiss.

His first memoir, Red Carpets and other Banana Skins, was a Sunday Times bestseller and its sequel Vanished Years won the Sheridan Morley prize for biography.

His documentary series Love for Sale won the Grierson award and his film of Oscar Wilde’s later years, The Happy Prince was released in 2018 to widespread acclaim.