BBC Studios Taps New Documentary Unit Head

BBC Studios has named Fiona Campbell to oversee The Documentary Unit, replacing Aysha Rafaele, who is setting up her own factual drama hub within the company.

In her new position, which takes effect in December, Campbell will manage a team of documentary makers across a variety of history, arts and documentary content. She currently serves as digital director at BBC News. Earlier in her career, she was a commissioning editor at Channel 4 News.

Lisa Opie, the managing director of BBC Studios Factual, remarked: “Fiona is an extraordinary program maker, with incredible experience and expertise spanning current affairs, factual and digital, both in production and in commissioning. Documentaries provide a real opportunity for our business to grow, both in the U.K. and internationally, and I’m delighted to have someone of Fiona’s caliber leading our world-class Documentary Unit.”

Campbell added: “It’s a dream come true from my time as an aspiring filmmaker in Belfast to lead BBC Studios’ Documentary Unit. It will be a privilege to collaborate with and support some of the country’s leading and exciting new directors and authorial voices. We live in a time of rapidly changing media consumption, which presents great creative and commercial opportunities; I can’t think of a better place to seize them and shape the future than in BBC Studios.”