Writer, Performer & Actor - Co-Writer / Star of BAFTA Winning 'The Revolution Will Be Televised' on BBC3
After graduating from the University of Sussex with a degree in philosophy and cognitive science, Heydon began working at Don’t Panic London in 2007 as editor of their online magazine, where he created highly successful viral video campaigns, including a mix of stunt comedy and journalism, which influenced the national dialogue and even government policy.
His most notable films exposed BNP’s racist membership policy, government complicity in the sale of fraudulent bomb detectors to Iraq, and Nobu’s failure to alert customers to the critically endangered status of their bluefin tuna, all of which accumulated millions of organic views as well as international press coverage from traditional media.
As a journalist, Heydon’s humorous investigations have featured in The Guardian, The Independent, BBC Newsnight, The Telegraph, The Evening Standard and Huffington Post. Capitalising on the success of his work, Heydon began to produce films for commercial clients including The English National Opera, Yahoo, Sony and more, winning a Lovie and a W3 Gold award for best digital content.
Given the issue-based, campaigning nature of Heydon’s films, the charity/NGO sector became an important part of his client base, which led to Heydon’s work as a producer/director on films for the likes of Amnesty International, Global Witness and Greenpeace that directly changed corporate and government policy on behalf of his clients.
Heydon continued to direct documentaries for the likes of Vice and The Guardian as well as presenting documentaries for BBC Three and Channel 4. He hosted and wrote the successful BBC Two documentary called The Town That Took on The Taxman, which gained international press coverage and was remade for Dutch television. Heydon was also the journalist host on the branded content documentary The Most Dangerous Town on the Internet for Norton Antivirus which won two Cannes Lion Golds.
As a natural progression from online content to television, Heydon began co-creating, writing and starring in numerous comedy shows including BBC Three’s The Revolution Will Be Televised, which Heydon wrote and starred in and which won a BAFTA, a Rose d’Or and a Broadcast Award over three seasons. Other comedy shows included Democracy Dealers on BBC Three and Revolting on BBC Two.
Most recently Heydon co-wrote and performed in The Ministry of Justice on Channel 4 – a three part satirical comedy series where he, alongside Jolyon Rubinstein, went undercover to explore the UK’s world of crime and anti-social behaviour.
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