ITV Studios label Shiver has appointed Channel 4 Commissioning Editor Simone Haywood to the newly created position of Head of Factual Entertainment.
Haywood, responsible for commissioning shows such as E4’s Celebs Go Dating, now in its fifth series, Tattoo Fixers and Too Posh To Parent, will work with Group Creative Director Ana De Moraes – who MD Tim Carter also brought in at the start of the year – and her new development team to create returnable formats with international potential.
“Everyone’s knows Simone is the rising star of factual entertainment and I’ve watched her career with growing admiration ever since the pitch perfect CBBC format Operation Ouch!” said Carter. “The shows she’s commissioned and nurtured since then are those rarest and most beautiful of things: innovative, distinct, loved by their (large) audiences and commercially successful.”
“I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to join Shiver at what is a very exciting time for the label right now,” said Haywood. “I’ve had an incredibly creative and enjoyable time at Channel 4 working with great people and I am proud of the shows that I’ve commissioned and helped grow into returning brands, but I can’t wait to work with Tim, Ana and the team at Shiver to help create a brilliant and bold new generation of Factual Entertainment series.”
Whilst at Channel 4, which she joined in 2013, Haywood has also commissioned forthcoming shows Shipwrecked 2018 – the re-boot of the popular reality tv show – and The Super Salon, worked across the second series of Lego Masters and ordered two series of Body Fixers. Prior to this, Haywood was an Executive Producer with Maverick Television, where she both co-created and oversaw the BAFTA award-winning Operation Ouch! for CBBC, as well as a number of other shows including My Super Sweet World Class for MTV and Your Style In His Hands for Discovery’s TLC.
Staff Reporter
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