Former Naked managing director and factual commissioner Fatima Salaria is moving into drama with an exec role at Dancing Ledge Productions.
Salaria joins the indie behind BBC1 drama The Responder and C4 comedy-drama Big Mood as a factual and factual drama executive producer.
Dancing Ledge is looking to make further inroads into factual drama, building on the success of BBC1’s 2020 drama The Salisbury Poisonings and its upcoming BBC drama about Iran’s detainment of British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
The Responder also draws on the real-life experiences of Merseyside police officer Tony Schumacher, who made his screenwriting debut with the series.
Salaria will also develop documentaries that can complement the dramas and go deeper into the stories they tackle.
She said she admired Dancing Ledge’s “dedication to improving our industry and their commitment to the local community,” adding: “There's much for me to learn, but I'm joining a team of leaders who will nurture my growth and development.”
In a joint statement, Dancing Ledge chief executive Laurence Bowen and managing director Chris Carey described Salaria as “one of the most respected and creative programme makers in the UK”.
They said: “We’ve held a torch up to Fatima for many years so are pinching ourselves to actually have her now as one of the team.”
Salaria left Fremantle label Naked last year after three years as managing director, overseeing shows including BBC3’s The Rap Game and Planet Sex with Cara Delevingne and C4 staple Grand Designs, as well as docs such as ITV’s The Missing Millionaires and Channel 5’s The Missing Millionairess.
She is also executive chair of the Edinburgh International TV Festival.
