BBC chief content officer Charlotte Moore is set to leave the corporation after 19 years to head up The Crown producer Left Bank Pictures.
Moore will join the Sony Pictures Television-owned producer as chief executive later this year, succeeding Andy Harries, who moves into an executive chair role 18 years since founding the company.
The pair will have a handover period and Moore will also become SPT executive vice-president and creative director of international production.
The BBC now begins the hunt for successor to Moore, with director of unscripted Kate Phillips taking on the role on a temporary interim basis.
Moore has held the chief content officer position for the past four years, having previously been director of BBC Content, BBC1 controller and commissioning editor of documentaries.
Prior to joining the BBC, she was a freelance documentary producer and director and also held the role of director of contemporary factual at IWC Media.
In her new role, Moore swaps her background in factual for Left Bank's scripted focus. The company's upcoming dramas include BBC1 series The City is Ours and James Graham's TV adaptation of his hit play Dear England.
BBC director general Tim Davie hailed Moore as a “a creative powerhouse and real visionary”.
Davie said: “Her commitment to homegrown storytelling is unrivalled, and she has a long track record of taking risks and supporting creatives both on and off screen. She has consistently pushed boundaries across genres and platforms to bring audiences an ambitious range and quality of programming.”
Moore added: “The BBC is an extraordinary place to work and plays a vital role in the UK’s creative ecology. There’s nowhere quite like it that backs risk taking, innovation and homegrown creativity with such commitment and I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the very best programme makers in the business.”
