BBC entertainment director Kate Phillips has been promoted to oversee all unscripted output in a shake-up of the corporation’s commissioning.
After five years heading up entertainment, Phillips becomes director of unscripted, a newly-created role at the head of a unit that spans all entertainment, factual, popular factual and fact ent, arts and classical music, daytime, early peak and events.
She will lead commissioning strategy across these genres and manage all commissioning heads, including her successor as head of entertainment to oversee a slate that includes the likes of Strictly Come Dancing, Top Gear, MasterChef and The Graham Norton Show.
The appointment draws a line under previous plans to hire a successor to former director of factual, arts and classical music Patrick Holland, with those duties now folded into her remit and those of individual genre heads.
Fiona Campbell has been assuming director of factual duties in an acting role but now returns to her BBC3 controller post.
Phillips has previously been channel executive for BBC1 and BBC3 and creative director of formats for BBC Worldwide.
She will now line manage the following genre heads:
- Suzy Klein (arts and classical music)
- Lindsay Bradbury (acting - daytime, early peak and events)
- Clare Sillery (documentaries, history and religion)
- Jack Bootle (natural history & science)
- Catherine Catton (popular factual and factual entertainment)
