BBC Director of Drama Lindsay Salt has appointed Jonny Richards as Commissioning Editor.
He joins from Disney+ where he has overseen dramas including the second series of Rivals, A Thousand Blows, Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes and Shardlake.
At Disney+, he has also been instrumental in building a development slate in the UK and supporting local scripted creative teams across EMEA, in his role as Director, Scripted Originals.
Prior to joining Disney, Richards held Head of Development roles at Element Pictures and Longboat Pictures. He was previously a drama Commissioning Executive at Channel 4, where he oversaw series including No Offence, Humans, and Baghdad Central, as well as Brexit: The Uncivil War, and the twice BAFTA-nominated emerging writer and director anthology On The Edge. He began his career at ITV Studios, where his credits include Vera, Jericho and Mr Selfridge.
He joins the BBC Drama Commissioning team in the summer.
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, says: “We feel incredibly lucky to have Jonny joining the BBC. Highly respected across the industry and with a wealth of experience and credits under his belt, Jonny knows what makes world class drama and will be a fantastic addition to our team.”
Jonny Richards adds: “It’s a real privilege to be joining Lindsay and the brilliant team at the BBC – an organisation whose breadth and quality of drama has had a lasting influence on me. I have loved my time at Disney and feel incredibly lucky to have worked with such wonderful colleagues, led by Angela and Lee. I’m excited to collaborate with our industry’s outstanding community of writers and producers at the BBC, to find stories and voices which resonate with, and entertain, audiences across the UK.”
Picture credit: StillMoving supplied by BBC Press Office
Jon Creamer
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