BBC Names Mark Freeland as New Head of Comedy

LONDON, July 17: Mark
Freeland has been named the head of comedy for BBC’s Vision Studios, replacing Jon
Plowman, who last month announced that he was stepping down after 14 years to
return to producing shows for the broadcaster.

Freeland’s appointment,
effective September 3, marks his return to the BBC. Between 2002 and 2005, he
had been the head of comedy commissioning at the BBC, and was responsible for
commissioning, executive producing and developing comedy across the four BBC
channels—working closely with in-house and independent production teams.
During this stint, he worked on series such as Nighty
Night, QI, Early Doors, The
Worst Week Of My Life, The Catherine
Tate Show, The Kumars At No 42, The Mighty Boosh,
Sensitive Skin, Alistair McGowan's
Big Impression, Look Around You, Marion And Geoff
and Mock The Week.

In his new role, Freeland
will be in charge of in-house comedy production across all four television
networks as well as radio comedy and entertainment.
BBC’s comedy studio is currently producing a wide range of programs that
include a Christmas special of Extras
from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, a second season of the BAFTA
award-winning That Mitchell And Webb Look
for BBC Two, and newer titles like Spacehopper and The Visit for
BBC Three.

Freeland most
recently worked at Hartswood Films. Between
1997 and 2002, he was the head of original programs at Sky One, where he
commissioned and executive produced shows across comedy, factual entertainment
and drama.

Peter Salmon,
the chief creative officer of BBC Vision, commented: "Mark is stepping
into one of the great jobs in British TV and radio. He is a much-respected
figure in the industry and brings with him a wealth of experience and
relationships from across the U.K. production sector that will prove vital for
one of the key creative jobs in the entire BBC. Under Mark, comedy will
continue to grow as one of the powerhouses of in-house BBC production."