Channel 4 has rolled features into its daytime team following the departure of head of features and formats Sarah Lazenby after six years.
Features now forms part of the remit of Glasgow-based daytime head Jo Street, whose role becomes head of features and daytime, with added responsibility for commissioning for More 4.
Entertainment and fact ent heads will also be responsible for features and each of the three departments has had new commissioners assigned.
These come primarily from within the broadcaster’s existing commissioning teams, with one external hire: The Last Leg series producer Cimran Shah has joined the entertainment team as a commissioning editor.
Shows overseen by Lazenby have included The Great British Bake Off, Mums Make Porn and Joe Lycett's Got Your Back.
C4 has effectively reduced its genre departments from nine to seven, having incorporated both features and specialist factual – previously run by departed exec Fatima Salaria - into its unscripted teams.
These are: Factual, features/daytime, fact ent, entertainment, drama, comedy and news, current affairs & sport.
Joining comedy head Fiona McDermott's team is Joe Hulliat. The creator of The Comedy Unit's BBC Scotland show Scot Squad takes on the commissioning executive recently vacated by Jon Petrie, who left to join Black Mirror creators Charlie Brooker and Annbel Jones' indie Broke & Bones.
The move is part of C4’s wider commissioning restructure, which includes an expansion of E4 controller Karl Warner’s role to head of youth and digital. Warner will now oversee 4Music and the Box and will recruit a head of digital commissioning and a youth commissioner to work under him.
C4 director of programmes Ian Katz becomes chief content officer, responsible for all editorial for C4, All 4 and social media. The broadcaster will not be replacing his former deputy, Kelly Webb-Lamb.
Some of Webb-Lamb’s former duties will now come under Kiran Nataraja, promoted from head of portfolio management to director of content strategy and planning, which includes all content planning on All 4 and oversight of the acquisitions team, including Nick Lee, who becomes head of acquisitions and international.
Head of commissioning management Emma Hardy becomes director of commissioning operations and will hire a head of indie relations to ensure C4 is a “responsive, collaborative and transparent creative partner”.
C4 commissioning: key changes
Fact ent
Head – Alf Lawrie
New reports - commissioning editors Tim Hancock; Vivienne Molokwu
Entertainment
Head - Phil Harris
New report - commissioning editors Jonny Rothery; Cimran Shah (external hire)
Features (inc daytime and More 4)
Head – Jo Street
New reports - commissioning editors Clemency Green; Deborah Dunnett; Jasper Horne
Youth & digital
Head – Karl Warner
Head of digital commissioning and youth commissioner – to be appointed
