Over three decades into his career, Reggie began as a child actor, which set the stage for a varied career spanning a decade as a national radio host, actor, and eventually the face of Saturday night prime-time television. A significant shift came with his move into documentary-making, where authentic storytelling became his primary focus.
In the past decade, Reggie has become synonymous with critically acclaimed documentaries. His notable works include the BBC Three Extreme series, featuring Reggie Yates: Extreme Russia, Extreme South Africa, and Extreme UK, all of which are available to a global audience on Netflix. In 2016, Reggie received several accolades for Extreme Russia, including Best Presenter at the Royal Television Society Awards, Best Factual Programme at the Edinburgh TV Festival, and Best Multi-channel Programme at the Broadcast Awards.
In 2017, Reggie held his first photography exhibition at Tate Modern, published his debut book Unseen with Penguin Random House, and released critically acclaimed documentaries such as Grenfell Tower’s Hidden Victims and TV’s Black Renaissance, which explored the rise of Black voices in Hollywood.
Drawing on insights from photography and factual storytelling, Reggie ventured into filmmaking. His first short film, Patriarch, aired on Channel 4 as part of their Random Acts season, while another of his films, Shelter, premiered on BBC iPlayer in September 2017. His second short film, Date Night, starring Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya, won Best UK Short at the London Independent Film Festival.
Reggie transitioned from short films to television drama with Make Me Famous, a TV movie he wrote and produced for the BBC. The critically acclaimed film explored the impact of reality television on mental health and suicide.
Inspired by his personal experiences as an actor and documentary maker, Reggie’s work is rooted in authenticity, creating a unique and compelling voice in all his creative endeavours.