BBC Taps New Director of Comedy

The BBC has appointed Jon Petrie, a Channel 4 alum, as director of comedy.

Petrie started his career at Talkback Productions, before moving to Roughcut Television in 2008, making internet shorts for BBC Comedy. In 2019, he was appointed comedy commissioning editor at Channel 4, overseeing The Windsors, Friday Night Dinner and Dead Pixels. Petrie is currently head of comedy at the Netflix-invested indie Broke and Bones, owned by Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones.

Petrie replaces Shane Allen, who returns to production. Petrie will report to Charlotte Moore, chief content officer, and be responsible for the commissioning of all scripted comedy programs to BBC channels and BBC iPlayer and the BBC Comedy Association.

Interim arrangements remain the same, with Kate Phillips, director of BBC Entertainment, overseeing new comedy commissioning decisions, and Tanya Qureshi as head of comedy.

Petrie said: “Shane has done an incredible job of banging the drum for U.K. comedy over the last few years. He leaves massive clown shoes to fill, and I’m under no illusions about the magnitude of the task ahead of me. As a team, BBC comedy commissioning will continue to develop comedy with the most exciting new and established talent, both on and off-screen, that speaks to everyone across the U.K. It’s not like we couldn’t all do with a laugh right now.”

Moore added: “Jon is a talented creative with a passion for comedy and an impressive track record for spotting new and diverse talent from across the U.K. and creating mainstream hits. I’m thrilled he’s joining the BBC as the new director of comedy and can’t wait to start working with him as he leads BBC comedy commissioning into an exciting new era.”