Seyi Rhodes

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With over fifteen years’ experience, Seyi Rhodes is a chameleon – quickly able to adapt to the unusual situations and extraordinary environments. Fascinated by cultural change and social upheaval Seyi’s work has taken him from the length and breadth of the world, creating an impressive body of work that explores unique stories and fascinating individuals. This can be seen in all his work for Channel 4 including the documentaries “Race and Medical Experiments: What’s the Truth?”, Unreported World and “Sex on the Beach” where he travelled to Gambia to investigate the country’s reputation as a destination for British sex tourists. Due to all his international work Seyi has seen the impact of the West on developing countries especially when it comes to environmental issues. He explored this and many other climate change issues in the Virgin Podcast “Earth Unscrewed” which looked at some of the incredible, and often surprising, developments that are providing some serious hope for the future of our planet.

Due to all his international work Seyi has seen the impact of the West on developing countries especially when it comes to environmental issues. He explored this and many other climate change issues in the Virgin Podcast Earth Unscrewed which looked at some of the incredible, and often surprising, developments that are providing some serious hope for the future of our planet. More recently, he hosted the flagship podcast for Positive News, travelling from Guatemala to Nigeria, Peru to Zimbabwe and beyond, to uncover the fascinating ways that communities are dealing with mental health issues in parts of the world where circumstances are often the most challenging.

Seyi is also part of the regular reporting team for BBC World Services’ flagship show, Outlook, exploring extraordinary true stories of ordinary people. His coverage has ranged from Kenyan photography, ground-breaking British Horticultural research, 1970’s American musical families, a Policeman turned celebrated Scultptor and the paralysed Harry Potter stuntman David Holmes.

Seyi is an in-demand speaker, moderator and awards host, having delivered speeches and hosted a major events and ceremonies such as the Wildlife Photographer Of The Year, Amnesty Awards, Sunday Papers Live, and Food Sustainability Live. He is also adept at In Conversations and Q&As, following bespoke screenings of his film work.

Born in the UK and raised between Nigeria, Trinidad and Spain whilst attending boarding school in the UK, Seyi began his career as a current affairs researcher and Assistant Producer, investigating subjects like teenage gangs and con artists for documentaries broadcast on the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV. Many of his jobs involved secret/covert filming, door-stepping and months-long investigations.

Before he started reported from war zones, he spent three years as Matthew Wright’s sidekick on Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff. This saw him interview a full spectrum of people from celebrities like Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp on the red carpet but also more crucially audience members in the studio igniting his passion for discovering untold stories and the plight of those whose voices are not often heard.

This led to him joining the regular presenting team on Unreported World for Channel 4. Aided by his ability to speak and understand a plethora of foreign languages (French, Spanish, a bit of Portuguese and Creole), these films all show Seyi’s amazing ability to create an on-camera rapport with people from all walks of life – from the jungles of Myanmar to Brazilian Favelas. Many of his films have also had a huge impact on the countries in which they were made. His film, Nigeria’s Millionaire Preachers, still gets tens of thousands of views a year (eight years after it was made); in Trinidad his challenging interview style led to the sacking of a government advisor; and in Haiti his film, The World’s Worst Prison, has become a rallying call for criminal justice reformers and government officials. His film about a mudslide in Sierra Leone became the centrepiece of the British Council’s ‘Environment Week’.

Back on home turf, Seyi has reported on numerous episodes of Dispatches on Channel 4. This has seen him investigating cheating in schools and challenging government ministers about their changes to benefits. He previously joined Channel 4s Tricks of the Restaurant Trade that saw him out and about on the streets of London inviting members of the public to sample strange delicacies and test their food knowledge.

From sustainable energy to sociological and anthropological history right through to the trials and tribulations of being a Chelsea fan, Seyi is a unique and fascinating talent bubbling
with stories and ideas.