The BBC is launching BBC Creator Lab, a talent initiative focused on highlighting and celebrating young social and digital talent across the UK.

Announced at the Edinburgh TV Festival 2023, the BBC will be collaborating with TikTok for the first year of Creator Lab on this brand new scheme which aims to give 100 social and digital creators, who have an interest in pursuing a career in television, the opportunity to take part in a development programme where the BBC will host in-person sessions and provide attendees with tools to boost their social presence and help build their next step in their media careers, alongside input from experts and insights from TikTok, one of the biggest talent initiatives the short-from mobile video app has worked on in the UK to date.

The 2-day development programme will be run across the UK in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and will provide opportunities for creators to showcase their skills whilst working on a BBC brief. In addition to this, attendees will meet on-screen talent and Commissioning Editors across the genres of Daytime, Children’s, Sport, Unscripted and Arts. The successful applicants will also learn about best practice across social media and TV and have the opportunity to collaborate with other social creators.

Fiona Campbell, Controller Youth Audience (BBC iPlayer & BBC Three) says: “The BBC is committed to developing new talent and voices across the whole of the UK and the Creator Lab Scheme promises to offer a unique opportunity for Content Creators to enhance their skillset whilst potentially having the opportunity to showcase their creativity to audiences across the BBC and iPlayer.”

James Stafford, General Manager, Operations & Marketing, TikTok UK & Nordics says: "We are thrilled to partner with the BBC on the Creator Lab initiative. Over the past 5 years on TikTok, we have seen a whole new generation of creatives thrive, from comedians and performers to editors and film-makers. We believe this creativity should be nurtured, which is why we're excited to be partnering with the BBC to enable digital talent from all corners of the UK, to build the skills and expertise to turn this passion into a career".

The application process will be open to social and digital creators that meet the following criteria:

• Have a social presence across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and/or Snapchat

• Are based in the UK and over the age of 18

• Have a) over 50k following and/or b) developed, created and published at least two videos that have reached over 350k views

• Made a positive creative or innovative impact across social platforms

• Can demonstrate on-screen experience i.e. often feature on social video content

Applications for the scheme can be made via the BBC Commissioning website from autumn 2023 with information also available via the TikTok App.

Applicants can visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/creatorlab from October 2023 to view full terms and conditions and apply to be part of the scheme.