BBC Studios Fires Starting Gun On Race To Replace Ralph Lee At Helm Of $2B Content Unit
14.03.2024 - 09:07
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: The race to replace Ralph Lee at the helm of BBC Studios Productions is underway, with the studio signaling its ambition by approaching some of the UK’s top unscripted executives.
Lee will step down as the CEO of BBC Studios Productions next month after a six-year stint to “pursue a new challenge” but Deadline is told that headhunter Russell Reynolds Associates is already scoping out successors.
The successful candidate will run a production unit that contributed heavily to BBC Studios’ £1.6B ($2B) content revenue last year, overseeing hits including Good Omens, Strictly Come Dancing, and David Attenborough’s natural history tentpoles.
Deadline understands that Russell Reynolds has held tentative early conversations with potential candidates including STV Studios managing director David Mortimer, ITV Studios unscripted director Angela Jain and Karl Warner, Channel 4’s outgoing head of youth and digital.
Fatima Salaria, who previously ran The Apprentice producer Naked, and Tim Hincks, the boss of BBC Studios-backed Clarkson’s Farm outfit Expectation, have also been approached. Another name in the frame is Tom McDonald, the former Blue Planet II commissioner who now heads up Nat Geo’s factual and unscripted offering.
Other executives linked to the role include Sky UK content boss Zai Bennett, former Endemol CEO Sophie Turner Laing, and experienced ex-BBC content boss Lorraine Heggessey. Internally, executives including factual boss Kate Ward, factual entertainment MD Hannah Wyatt, and recently-promoted Global Entertainment chief Matt Forde are all highly regarded.
Sources said Russell Reynolds has emphasized creative expertise in conversations with potential candidates, with people familiar with the process