BBC Studios is building up its entertainment and music division with signings from Hungry Bear, Banijay label Sharp Jack TV and Lemonade Money.
Sinead Oldnall, the talent executive behind Hungry Bear’s Michael McIntyre-front formats Big Show and The Wheel, has joined BBC Studios Entertainment and Music as head of on-screen talent.
She will create IP opportunities with established and emerging stars and will help talent seeking to switch direction or genre.
Oldnall’s entertainment credits also include TFI Friday, Would I Lie To You?, Stand Up To Cancer and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.
The BBCS division, run by managing director, entertainment and music Suzy Lamb, has also hired Amanda Wilson and Elliot Johnson to devise original format ideas as creative directors for development.
The duo set up their label Sharp Jack 10 years ago, with Banijay buying the company in 2017. The indie recently produced E4 short-form series Keep Your Hair On!.
Between them, the pair have been instrumental in the development and production of entertainment hits such as Strictly Come Dancing, The X Factor and The Chase.
Lamb described Wilson and Johnson as “creative powerhouses” whose “fingerprints can be found on some of TV’s most popular contemporary formats”.
Last month, Lamb signed Lemonade Money founder James Payne to oversee music content.
The team is rounded out by established creative directors Mel Balac and Pete Ogden.
