Wildflame Taps Off the Fence Alum as Creative Director

Wales-based Wildflame Productions has appointed Allison Bean, formerly Off the Fence’s chief creative officer, as its new creative director.

In her new role, which she takes up in January, Bean will drive Wildflame’s push to expand partnerships with international broadcasters and build upon its existing success in the U.K. Bean previously spent 16 years at Off the Fence, helping to build its nonfiction arm into a global content provider.

At Off the Fence, Bean oversaw programming such as the Oscar- and BAFTA-winning feature documentary My Octopus Teacher (Netflix), Stan Lee’s Superhumans (HISTORY) and Monkey Thieves (National Geographic), as well as Colombia: Wild Magic (Magia Salvaje).

As creative director, Bean will report directly to Wildflame CEO Paul Islwyn Thomas.

“Allison is a major figure in the international production and distribution industry, helping to build a business from its inception to an internationally renowned powerhouse of factual production,” Thomas said. “She brings a wealth of experience, and her track record of taking a company to new heights bodes well for what we are aiming to achieve here at Wildflame.

“We have a wonderful, talented team that has seen our standing in factual television grow both at home and internationally, and under Allison’s creative leadership, we’ll now super-charge our ambitious strategy for growth and continue that trajectory.”

Bean added, “Wildflame is a company with a fantastic reputation domestically and a growing reputation internationally, especially off the back of recent commissions for Discovery and Smithsonian. I look forward to becoming a member of the team to help further establish its reputation and continue to build a company that is truly world-class. With Wildflame being crowned this year’s best place to work in Broadcast Magazine’s annual poll, I know I am joining a high-caliber and healthy company with huge potential.”