The BBC has appointed Clare Sillery as Head of Commissioning for Documentaries.
Sillery has been acting in the role since August 2016 and before that she was a Commissioning Editor in the documentaries team.
The BBC also announced that Emma Loach will be joining the documentaries team as a Commissioning Editor, backfilling behind Clare Sillery.
Loach has been an executive producer since 2010 working with many indies including Dragonfly and Rare Day.
She executive produced BBC One’s Ambulance and Sally Phillips film for BBC Two, A World without Down’s Syndrome?
Other credits include Police Under Pressure, The Trial, A Killing In My Family, Inside Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Going To The Dogs, Big Ballet, Liberty Of London, The Murder Workers, Young Mormons and Ian Brady: Endgames of a Psychopath.
Alison Kirkham, BBC Head of Factual Commissioning, said: “I’m delighted that Clare Sillery has been confirmed in the role of Head of Commissioning, Documentaries. She has proved herself as an exceptional creative leader and a real champion for documentary film making. From The Real Marigold Hotel to The Detectives, she has overseen the delivery of an incredible range of films.”
Kirkham added: “I’m also pleased to welcome Emma Loach to the team. She is a tremendous talent with a fantastic pedigree as both an executive producer and a director and I know she will be a great addition to the documentaries department.”
Sillery said: “It’s a huge privilege to take on the Head of Documentaries role. In an increasingly uncertain world there’s never been a more important time for documentaries to reflect the complexities and dilemmas we’re all facing. Together with the fantastic team here I want us to be the first stop for creative talent to do what they do best – tell the stories that really matter.”
Loach said: "Whilst I am sad to be leaving my colleagues at Dragonfly, I am excited to be joining the BBC documentaries commissioning team, especially at this challenging and interesting time for film-making, when there is such need to reflect the conflicting currents in our society and tell the stories that really matter in people’s lives today.”
Staff Reporter
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