Channel 4 has bolstered its entertainment team under Head of Entertainment and TV Events, Ed Havard.
Recently taking responsibility for the entertainment genre, Havard has hired Karen Murdoch as Commissioning Editor for Entertainment.
Murdoch will join Commissioning Editor Syeda Irtizaali and Commissioning Executive Antonia Howard Taylor. Commissioning Editor Sarah Lazenby continues to work across Factual Entertainment and Entertainment.
Separately, Tom Beck is promoted to Head of Live Events overseeing channel events from The Crystal Maze to Stand Up To Cancer. He also remains a commissioning editor for Entertainment.
Madeline Ireland is the entertainment and events genre assistant, while Katie Buckley remains programme co-ordinator for the department. All the team will continue to report to Havard.
The boost to the entertainment department comes as Channel 4 looks for ambitious broad entertainment ideas, particularly for Friday nights. Satire and topical entertainment also remain a priority following the success of The Last Leg.
Murdoch has Executive Producer, Series Producer and Producer credits for Magnum Media, Zeppotron, Objective, Open Mike, Princess Productions and Burning Bright on her CV.
She was most recently Executive Producer on series 5 & 6 of Lee Mack’s Sky 1 panel show, Duck Quacks Don’t Echo, having previously been Series Producer on the first two series and Consultant Producer on series 3 & 4.
As a Series Producer, she has been responsible for Channel 4’s 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, BBC One’s Would I Lie To You? and John Bishop’s Britain, ITV1’s The Marriage Ref and BBC Two’s Let’s Play Darts for Comic Relief.
Staff Reporter
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