Damian Collins, the former UK MP and government minister for tech and the digital economy, has been appointed Chairman of Screenburn Group, a London-based company behind a screenwriting app and CherryBowl, a microdrama research and ranking service. The appointment brings a high-profile figure with deep policy experience in online safety and digital regulation into the fast-growing vertical microdrama sector, lending credibility as the firm prepares to raise fresh funding.

Collins, an MP for 14 years, chaired the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee and helped pass the UK's Online Safety Act. Screenburn, founded by game designer Charles Kriel and TV showrunner Kat Gellein Viken, is set to launch a funding round this autumn, and its CherryBowl platform already tracks more than 74,000 titles and 3.6 million episodes across major microdrama platforms. The company has also appointed Odiri Iwuji, co-founder of C21 Media and Chudor House Productions, to its advisory board.