C4’s Kelly Webb-Lamb Boards 2019 Edinburgh TV Festival

Kelly Webb-Lamb, deputy director of programs at Channel 4 and head of popular factual, has been named advisory chair of next year’s Edinburgh Television Festival, taking place August 21 to 23.

Webb-Lamb will work with Festival Director Lisa Campbell to oversee a team of cross-genre, industry execs to help curate the 2019 program and lead the advisory committee. Her festival theme centers on the question of “What is TV for?” as the industry strives to stay relevant in a fast-changing landscape. She will focus on young audiences, representation, truth, trust and transparency, and the globalization of television. There will also be a variety of creative masterclasses, keynotes and more.

The advisory chair is a year-long position that Webb-Lamb is taking over from Phil Edgar-Jones, the head of Sky Arts and Sky Entertainment.

Webb-Lamb remarked: “Once upon a time I used to avoid Edinburgh… as it felt at times like an exclusive week full of telly people from London navel-gazing… but in the last few years the festival has evolved and I am excited to be able to be part of that evolution. In what promises to be a momentous year for the industry and as we race to keep up with the way viewers watch content, I’m really looking forward to interrogating and questioning what and who we’re all doing this for. I’m pleased to be working with Lisa and Graham and the advisory team to make sure next year’s festival is both dynamic and different.”

Campbell commented: “It’s over a decade since a Channel 4 executive has headed up the advisory, and I’m really looking forward to working with Kelly, who made headlines at this year’s festival with her comments about ‘mediocre posh white people’ in TV. I’m sure she’ll be making more headlines in 2019 with a noisy and provocative program of sessions.”

Executive Chair Graham Stuart added: “Kelly’s track record of commissioning and producing award-wining shows such as The Great British Bake Off on 4, The Circle, Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds, Genderquake, The Island with Bear Grylls and Hunted means that creativity and innovation will be at the heart of her thinking. Kelly inherits the festival in very good shape with a record number of attendees and an enhanced reputation as the must-attend media event of the year.”