Kate Phillips to Lead BBC’s Entertainment Commissioning

LONDON: Kate Phillips, who currently serves as the creative director of formats at BBC Worldwide, has been named controller of entertainment commissioning at the BBC, effective September 5.

Phillips will be replacing Mark Linsey, who is becoming director of BBC Studios. In her new position, she will oversee entertainment commissioning across all of BBC Television’s channels, BBC iPlayer and BBC Three. She is expected to continue the success of current programming while also finding future hits. Her slate will include such shows as Strictly Come Dancing, Let It Shine, Have I Got News for You, Mock the Week, Would I Lie to You?, The Apprentice, Dragons’ Den and Top Gear, as well as the events Children in Need and Eurovision Song Content.

While at BBC Worldwide, Phillips has been responsible for more than 200 formats, including The Great British Bake Off, Luther and The Office. Before joining BBC Worldwide, she was channel executive for BBC One and BBC Three. She has also served as head of development for BBC Children’s and later BBC Entertainment.

Charlotte Moore, controller of TV channels and BBC iPlayer, remarked: “Kate Phillips brings an enormous wealth of experience and a fresh, dynamic approach, which makes her perfectly placed to lead BBC entertainment commissioning into the future. Having worked across channels and most recently for BBC Worldwide, where she has overseen formats across the globe, she has entertainment running through her veins and I’m very excited about her ambition to create distinctive, game-changing hits across the whole of the BBC portfolio. I would also like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Alan Tyler for his commitment and passion while covering the role in an acting capacity for the last eight months.”

Phillips added: “The BBC has some of the biggest entertainment brands in the world, and close collaboration with our creative community, containing the world’s leading producers, is the key to building that slate. Entertainment matters to our audiences and will always be at the heart of the BBC. Helping to create stand-out content that viewers, producers and the BBC can be proud of will always be my goal.”