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BBC searches for new drama boss

The BBC has officially begun the search for its next controller of drama commissioning following confirmation that incumbent, Ben Stephenson, is moving to LA.

Faith Penhale

Faith Penhale

The UK pubcaster and JJ Abrams’ US prodco Bad Robot yesterday confirmed that Stephenson’s speculated move to head up the LA-based company’s TV division was happening.

The BBC has begun the recruitment process but said yesterday: “It is business as usual until Ben leaves.”

Execs tipped to take over from Stephenson when he leaves include Faith Penhale, head of drama production at BBC Wales, who is held in high regard for series such as Doctor Who and forthcoming epic War & Peace.

A number of potential candidates with prior experience at the BBC have recently announced their departures from high-profile roles in the UK and the US.

These include BBC Worldwide Productions chief Jane Tranter, who is stepping down from her role in LA and moving back to the UK this summer.

Tranter was controller of BBC drama commissioning from 2000 to 2006, before she left and was eventually replaced by Stephenson.

John Yorke

John Yorke

Meanwhile, John Yorke, the MD of All3Media-owned production outfit Company Pictures, is leaving the prodco after nearly two-and-a-half years in the role.

Yorke is a former controller of BBC drama production and worked on series such as Life On Mars, Spooks, EastEnders and Casualty during his various stints at the Beeb between 1999 and 2012.

The exec who eventually fills Stephenson’s shoes inherits a department on a high following a number of critically acclaimed dramas, the most recent of which has been BBC2’s Wolf Hall, the channel’s most popular drama in over a decade.

Other notable series Stephenson has commissioned during his seven-year tenure as drama controller include Sherlock, Happy Valley, Luther, Call the Midwife, The Fall, Peaky Blinders and The Honourable Woman.

Stephenson’s move to Bad Robot has sparked a reshuffle at the company, with Kathy Lingg transitioning to the role of co-executive producer on Bad Robot projects Westworld, Roadies, 11/22/63 and Person of Interest.

Athena Wickham, meanwhile, will exit the company at the end of March to run the TV division of Jonah Nolan and Lisa Joy’s Kilter Films, which is coproducing Person of Interest and Westworld with Bad Robot.

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