Nicholas Oakley Joins BBC Studios LA Productions

BBC Studios LA Productions has tapped formats veteran Nicholas Oakley as senior VP of unscripted development.

In his new role, Oakley will work with the L.A. unscripted team to conceive and develop original content ideas and build domestic and global formats, leveraging his relationships with U.S. buyers to pitch and sell series across the entertainment and factual business.

Oakley joins the company in a new executive role, under the leadership of General Manager Valerie Bruce.

Oakley has a track record of creating and selling original unscripted concepts and has experience bringing hit British formats to the U.S., including Hell’s Kitchen, Nanny 911 and Celebrity Fit Club. Oakley has held senior development roles at ITV Studios, MTV, Mentorn USA/Tinopolis, HLN/CNN and Mission Control.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Nick to our growing team,” said Ryan O’Dowd, executive VP of music and entertainment. “Advancing our mission to develop, sell and produce premium content for our broadcast and streaming partners remains our top priority. Nick brings a strong network of long-standing relationships in our business, along with his impressive breadth of experience across multiple genres on the buying and selling side, in both the U.S. and the U.K., which make him uniquely qualified to thrive in this role. Our ambition is to create global hits, and Nick will play a key role as we work to achieve this.”

“After beginning my career at the BBC in London over 20 years ago, I’m delighted to be returning to my roots and joining BBC Studios LA Productions at this time of immense growth,” said Oakley. “I look forward to working with Valerie, Ryan and the exceptionally talented team to boost the momentum with a whole new wave of big, exciting hits. I can’t wait to connect U.S. networks and streamers to the very best content from both sides of the pond and to champion the world-class creativity of our U.K. unscripted team and our indie partners.”