Christopher Michael Jack Gorell Barnes (born May 1974) is an English digital entrepreneur and marine conservationist best known as executive producer of the documentary '' The End of the Line''.

Early life

Gorell Barnes was born to Henry Gorell Barnes (1939-1983), merchant banker and a director of Morgan Grenfell, and Gillian (''née'' Carruthers), a family therapist at the

Tavistock Clinic The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health trust based in north London. The Trust specialises in talking therapies. The education and training department caters for 2,000 students a year from the United Kin ...

. His maternal grandmother was film editor Lito Carruthers. His paternal grandfather was Sir William Lethbridge Gorell Barnes (1909-1987), a War Cabinet official later of the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

and

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

(where he was

Deputy Under Secretary of State In the United Kingdom, the Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy or secretariat of Crown employees that supports His Majesty's Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the ...

from 1959 to 1963), and who had been Personal Assistant to Prime Minister

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...

from 1946 to 1948. His paternal great-grandfather was Sir Frederic Gorell Barnes (1856-1939), M.P. for

Faversham Faversham () is a market town in Kent, England, from Sittingbourne, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2 road (Great ...

, Kent from 1895-1900, Assistant Food Commissioner and Commissioner of the Education and Propaganda Branch of the

Ministry of Food Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

from 1918 to 1921. The Gorell Barnes family were of Ashgate House, Ashgate, Derbyshire, with the

Barons Gorell Barons may refer to: *Baron (plural), a rank of nobility *Barons (surname), a Latvian surname *Barons, Alberta, Canada * ''Barons'' (TV series), a 2022 Australian drama series * ''The Barons'', a 2009 Belgian film Sports * Birmingham Barons, a Min ...

descending from Henry, elder brother of Chris Gorell Barnes's ancestor Charles (1818-1886; of Mossley Hill, Lancashire, J.P., a merchant). The politician and colliery owner Alfred Barnes was the youngest brother of Henry and Charles. Gorell Barnes was raised in

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, north of Paddington, southwest of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn, on Edgware Road. It is part of the City of Westminster and is northwest of Charing C ...

, and studied at

Bedales Bedales School is a coeducational boarding and day public school, in the village of Steep, near the market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1893 by Amy Garrett Badley and John Haden Badley in reaction to the li ...

and the European Business School at

Regent's University London Regent's University London (formerly Regent's College) is a private university located in London, England. It is part of Galileo Global Education, Europe’s largest higher education provider. Regent's University London was established in 1984 ...

Career

Gorell Barnes founded a digital content agency called Adjust Your Set in 2008. He was named by the ''

London Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...

'' newspaper in 2013 as one of the most powerful 'Tech Stars' in the UK. Gorell Barnes has sat on the board of Eagle Eye Solutions, a digital consumerism business, since 2007. Other board members include Sir Terry Leahy, former

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

chief executive. Gorell Barnes was executive producer for ''The End of the Line'', a documentary film that changed attitudes towards seafood, including among companies such as

Pret A Manger Pret a Manger (; French for "ready to eat") is a British multinational sandwich shop chain founded in London, England, in 1983. It is popularly referred to simply as Pret. As of January 2025, Pret had over 700 locations across 19 countries and ...

and

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

. It won the inaugural Puma Creative Impact Award in 2011 for its success in changing

consumer behaviour Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organisations and all activities associated with the Purchasing, purchase, Utility, use and disposal of goods and services. It encompasses how the consumer's emotions, Attitude (psy ...

. A study by the BRITDOC Foundation found that it had been seen by more than one million people and had created press and media attention worth more than £4 million. The film was described by the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' as "an apocalyptic documentary that is as beautiful as it is damning".

Marine conservation

In 2009, Gorell Barnes and fellow producer

George Duffield __NOTOC__ George Duffield MBE (born 30 November 1946) is an English retired flat racing jockey. He served a seven-year apprenticeship with Jack Waugh, and rode his first winner on 15 June 1967 at Great Yarmouth Racecourse on a horse called Sy ...

founded a

marine conservation Marine conservation, also known as ocean conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas through planned management in order to prevent the over-exploitation of these marine resources. Marine conservation is i ...

charity, the

Blue Marine Foundation Blue Marine Foundation (stylised as Blue Marine) is a marine conservation Marine conservation, also known as ocean conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas through planned management in order to prev ...

which aims to create

marine reserve A marine reserve is a type of marine protected area (MPA). An MPA is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity. A marine reserve is a marine protected area in which removing or destroying natural or cultural ...

s. In 2010 it brokered a deal that created a huge marine reserve around the

Chagos Islands The Chagos Archipelago (, ) or Chagos Islands (formerly , and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands is the southernmo ...

and two years later one that protected the waters around

Turneffe Atoll Turneffe Atoll is located southeast of Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, off the coast of Belize in Central America, from Belize City. It is one of three atolls of the Belize Barrier Reef, along with Glover's Reef and Lighthouse Reef. It is ...

in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. Among its supporters is

Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, List of awards and nominations received by Helena Bonham Carter ...

Personal life

Gorell Barnes lives in London with his long-term partner Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho. Their identical twin sons, Milo and Felix, were born in 2016.

References

External links

Eagle Eye Solutions site

The End of the Line site

Blue Marine Foundation site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Chris Alumni of Regent's University London English film producers English conservationists Living people British documentary film producers Film people from London People educated at Bedales School Place of birth missing (living people) 1974 births