BBC Two Controller Steps Down

LONDON: Janice Hadlow, the controller of BBC Two and BBC Four, is to step down from her role and take up a new post within the BBC.

Hadlow is moving to the role of controller of special projects and seasons. She will develop and originate cross-platform series, seasons and other major TV events. Hadlow will also advise Danny Cohen, the BBC's director of television, and the channel controllers on broadcast strategy. Future projects include a range of programs on popular music, a season focusing on women's history and a collaboration between drama and factual genres to create a literary season in 2016.

Cohen said: "Janice has been an extraordinarily successful controller of BBC Two. In a time of digital change she has both creatively enriched BBC Two and ensured it remains a competitive force to be reckoned with. Janice truly understands how to make the popular good and the good popular. Her intellectual and creative skills are formidable and I am very glad indeed that she has decided to stay with us in BBC Television in a new senior role. I know that she will continue to deliver a strong and creative range of programmes for our audiences to enjoy."

Hadlow added: “It has been an amazing privilege for me to run a channel that I have loved ever since I was old enough to appreciate great programs. There’s nothing quite like BBC Two anywhere else in television, and, as it approaches its 50th birthday, I’m incredibly proud to have played a part in its distinguished, stimulating and always surprising history. The beating heart of the channel is, and always has been, the extraordinary talent it attracts. Working with such amazing people, both on and behind the screen has been the most exciting part of the job and I’ll always be grateful for the way they rose to the challenge to make BBC Two the very best it could be.”

Janice Hadlow has been controller of BBC Two since 2008 and joint controller of BBC Two and BBC Four since 2013.