Work
Two decades across media, museums and philanthropy
Great stories have the power to change how people think, feel and act. That single idea connects a career in front of the camera, behind it, and inside some of Britain’s best-known cultural institutions.
01
Media & Storytelling
Lucy’s media career began unusually early. While still at school she worked on local radio and television as a sports and news reporter. Her first television appearance came even earlier: aged 12, on Antiques Roadshow, proudly presenting a prototype flushing loo.
Working as a woman in sports broadcasting in the early 1990s put Lucy at the forefront of a changing industry. There were few female role models, even fewer precedents and, at some football grounds, not even a ladies’ bathroom.
After a gap year working with the touring West Indies and New Zealand cricket teams in the Caribbean and in the press office for the Euros, Lucy studied for an MA at Edinburgh University while continuing to work in broadcasting. She produced a live nightly news programme for BBC Scotland and worked as a reporter, newsreader, commentator and journalist for local radio and television in England.
She went on to produce and present Boro TV for Middlesbrough FC and Sky Blue TV for Coventry City before moving to Singapore to become a nightly anchor for ESPN’s SportsCentre and SportLine, broadcasting across Asia. There, as Head of Premiership, she covered Premier League football alongside Serie A, La Liga, the Champions League and MotoGP.
At a time when women remained a rarity in international sports broadcasting, Lucy and her co-presenter Bethan Evans were globally the most prominent female faces in sports television.
After two years in front of the camera — appearing in homes, bars and airport lounges across Asia, as well as on the back of buses — Lucy returned to London and moved behind the scenes. Her production credits included ITV’s GMTV, Lorraine and This Morning, and Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff. She also wrote and produced the first series of the BAFTA-winning Paul O’Grady Show.
Today, alongside her cultural leadership roles, Lucy chairs Jerusalem Productions and Four8 Media on behalf of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts, overseeing the development of scripted and unscripted digital content reaching audiences of millions.
And the sports obsession never disappeared. She remains an enthusiastic spectator of almost anything live, with particular loyalties to Fulham FC, Bath Rugby and Wimbledon.
02
Heritage, Museums & Cultural Change
Lucy is fascinated by what museums are becoming.
Museums have evolved from custodians of collections and curiosities for the elite into places of education, participation and collaboration. Lucy believes their next great opportunity is to build on their position as some of society’s most trusted institutions — becoming places that don’t simply tell communities’ stories, but give people the confidence and authority to tell their own.
That philosophy has shaped her career.
01
National Trust
Combining her fascination with the history of food — inspired by learning with the legendary food historian Ivan Day — Lucy used creative storytelling and marketing stunts to transform the commercial and catering offer at a city-centre property in York.
02
British Council
At a £1 billion global cultural organisation operating in more than 100 countries, she led its inaugural philanthropy strategy for the arts. Her work helped safeguard the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, ensuring it could continue showcasing some of the country’s most significant artists on the international stage.
03
Museum of the Home
Part of the senior team behind the Geffrye Museum’s transformation into the vibrant, award-winning Museum of the Home. She initiated and developed its Campaign for Change, moving beyond the idea that cultural institutions should simply shine a light on social issues and asking instead how they could help create meaningful change.
04
St Martin-in-the-Fields
Lucy tackled the considerable challenge of creating a compelling major-gift fundraising proposition within a complex site encompassing 13 interconnected charities and organisations. She significantly increased fundraising and helped secure a positive £10 million National Lottery Heritage Fund expression of interest.
05
Turner’s House Trust
As Chair, Lucy has helped bring J.M.W. Turner’s extraordinary and sometimes eccentric personality to the fore, championing a new brand, website and evolving interpretation for the house he designed and built in Twickenham.
06
Jerusalem Productions
She has led the development of a more focused, dynamic and metrics-driven organisation, recruiting a new team and board members, increasing grant funding and overseeing content attracting millions of viewers.
The most successful fundraising events need authenticity, integrity and imagination rather than simply glamour.
Lucy Littlewood
03
Philanthropy, Audiences & Unforgettable Events
Lucy has helped raise more than £100 million for charitable causes, with particular expertise in major gifts, philanthropy, partnerships and high-value events.
01
Serpentine Galleries
Lucy learnt the art of philanthropy and relationship-building alongside Hans Ulrich Obrist, Julia Peyton-Jones and Michael Bloomberg. She developed relationships with leading donors, reinvigorated the Future Contemporaries programme and its celebrated Summer Party, and initiated the American Friends of the Serpentine.
02
Macmillan Cancer Support
Lucy transformed the Macmillan Race at York Racecourse from a corporate partnership generating around £60,000 annually into the charity’s largest single fundraising event. In her first year it raised almost half a million pounds, continued to grow, and became a model subsequently emulated elsewhere.
03
The Yard Sale, Museum of the Home
A joyful gathering of female makers and entrepreneurs selling their work, demonstrating their craft and sharing their skills. It generated queues down the street, commercial income, extensive social-media engagement and — perhaps most importantly — a palpable sense of community.
04
The Yes Gala, St Martin-in-the-Fields
An extraordinary evening of music, bespoke poetry performed by Simon Russell Beale, personal storytelling, dynamic performances and specially created food, which raised more than £750,000. For a first-time event attended largely by people with little previous connection to the organisation, its success showed what comes from creating an experience with integrity and authenticity.
Current roles
Where Lucy is now
Three boards and one museum — in Bath, Twickenham and London.
Director
American Museum & Gardens
Lucy is the sixth Director, and first British Director, of the American Museum & Gardens in Bath. She is leading an ambitious new chapter for this much-loved museum — broadening its stories, audiences and relevance, and building its reputation nationally and internationally.
Chair
Jerusalem Productions & Four8 Media
Lucy leads a dynamic board of media and marketing experts overseeing two digital channels creating content for spiritually curious younger audiences, supported by the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts.
Chair
Turner’s House Trust
Lucy chairs a board bringing together experienced business leaders and art historians to develop and champion the remarkable house J.M.W. Turner designed with Sir John Soane and shared with his father.
Contact
Invite Lucy to speak
Looking for a speaker who can combine serious cultural and leadership experience with great stories, energy and a sense of humour?
Available for keynotes, conference sessions, panel discussions, fireside conversations, event hosting, chairing and after-dinner speaking — in the UK and internationally.