Phil Harris, the Channel 4 entertainment chief behind Late Night Lycett and Tempting Fortune, is leaving the broadcaster at the end of this year.
Harris, who joined four years ago from Fremantle label Thames, plans to launch his own indie next year. Entertainment commissioning editor Steve Handley will take over his C4 role on an interim basis until a permanent new head is appointed.
Handley has been with C4 for five years and his commissions include I Literally Just Told You and Don’t Look Down.
C4 chief content officer Ian Katz described Harris’ tenure as a “purple patch for C4 entertainment”.
The genre head has established several returning formats, including Late Night Lycett, experimented with Scared of the Dark and Rise and Fall, extended Taskmaster with a junior edition, revived Saturday Night Live for a one-off special, and nurtured talent such as Rosie Jones.
Prior to C4, his notable credits included producing Saturday Night Takeaway, The Xtra Factor, Celebrity Big Brother and The Only Way is Essex, and devising E4’s Celebs Go Dating and developing Bravo’s Emmy Award-winning US dating show The Singles Project.
Harris' exit was first reported by Deadline.
