Senior genre heads from the BBC’s unscripted team in the UK will present the public broadcaster’s latest commissioning strategies at Content London, following the launch of the revamped division last year.
Clare Sillery, head of commissioning, documentaries; Jack Bootle, head of specialist factual commissioning; and Catherine Catton, head of commissioning, factual entertainment and live events, will come together to reveal what they are looking for in factual and entertainment in one of Content London’s key Content Strategies sessions next month.
Other execs newly confirmed to speak at the Formats & Factual strand of Content London are Poppy Dixon, director of documentaries and factual commissioning at Sky UK; Jennifer Collins, head of screen content at Australia’s ABC; Maarten Meijs, CEO, Talpa Studios; Laura St. Clair, VP, international formats, Sony Pictures Television; Toby Dormer, executive VP, unscripted television, Blink49; and Kelly Wright, MD of distribution at Keshet TV.
More than 100 leading commissioners and coproducers will take part in the Formats & Factual strand, making it one of the most effective events to get your unscripted commission away.
You can find out more about Content London 2023 by CLICKING HERE.
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Speaking at Content London:
Clare Sillery
Head of documentary commissioning
BBC
Sillery is the head of documentary commissioning output for BBC One, Two, Three and iPlayer. Her department’s series include Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland, Parole, House of Maxwell and Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams, plus single films such as Our Falklands War and The Real Mo Farah.
Jack Bootle
Head of specialist factual commissioning
BBC
Bootle is the head of specialist factual commissioning at the BBC. His department comprises four genres: science, natural history, history and religion & ethics.
Catherine Catton
Head of commissioning, factual entertainment and events
BBC
Catton is head of commissioning for factual entertainment and events. She is responsible for commissioning factual entertainment, popular factual and events for BBC television channels and iPlayer.
Poppy Dixon
Director of documentaries and factual commissioning
Sky UK
Dixon is responsible for all original commissioning for Sky Documentaries, Sky Nature and Sky Crime. Since the launch of the factual channels in 2020, Sky has forged a path as a destination for premium, narrative-driven box-set series, feature documentaries and bold natural history programming, with Sky Documentaries winning the Broadcast Digital Award for Best Factual Channel only a year after its launch, plus a Bafta for Liverpool Narcos.
Key successes for the factual channels include Libby Are You Home Yet?, The Princess, Ghislaine Maxwell: Epstein’s Shadow, and Shark with Steve Backshall. Before joining Sky, Dixon produced and developed documentaries in the indie sector for over 15 years, with credits including Misha & the Wolves, Untouchable and The Imposter.
Jennifer Collins
Head of screen content
ABC Australia
Collins is one of Australia’s leading television executives, with a career spanning 30 years. In her current role, she leads the development, commissioning and production teams across genres including drama, comedy, children’s and family, entertainment, factual, arts and events. Her previous ABC roles have included head of factual and culture, head of entertainment, and director of entertainment and specialist. Collins’ past positions in the independent production sector include head of non-fiction at Screentime (Banijay) and director of content at Fremantle.
Maarten Meijs
CEO
Talpa
Since becoming CEO of Talpa, an independent global content house for non-scripted formats founded by John de Mol, in January 2022, Meijs has steered the company with a creative mindset and a strategic vision. Under his leadership, Talpa has enjoyed tremendous success with internationally acclaimed shows such as The Floor, which has been picked up in seven countries, and the globe-trotting sensation Million Dollar Island.
With a deep-rooted understanding of the media industry, Meijs is a veteran in the international media world, having worked for companies such as Endemol, ITV and Talpa Media. Prior to joining Talpa, Meijs was president global entertainment at ITV Studios. In 2016, he won the Young Captain Award, which recognises the most talented business leaders in the Netherlands.
Meijs’s educational background in business administration has equipped him with the expertise and skills to navigate the ever-changing media industry. His passion for creativity and dedication to creating next-level content have solidified Talpa’s global position as a leading force in the entertainment sector.
Laura St. Clair
VP, international formats
Sony Pictures Television
During her 15 years as Sony Pictures Television (SPT), St. Clair has held various director and executive director roles across the company’s formats and distribution business in a raft of countries and regions, including Africa, Benelux and the Nordics, then CEE and ultimately across the wider EMEA region.
Currently, she oversees all of SPT’s formats business globally outside of the US, including distribution and localisation of some of SPT’s most iconic formats, such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and Dragons’ Den/Shark Tank.
St. Clair works alongside the US gameshow division, Sony Pictures Television Nonfiction, as well as companies in SPT’s international production group, and leads the studio’s international format and print sales strategy.
Prior to joining SPT, St. Clair held various roles at media and entertainment companies including 2WayTraffic international, BBC Production and BBC Worldwide, and Celador International.
Toby Dormer
Executive VP, unscripted television
Blink49 Studios
Dormer oversees all aspects of Blink49 Studios ’ unscripted business, including development, production and related strategic initiatives. Previously, Dormer was executive VP, unscripted, Canada, at Entertainment One, overseeing an extensive slate that included Project Bakeover (Food Network), Arctic Vets (CBC/Nat Geo) and The Hunt for the Chicago Strangler (Discovery+).
In 2003, Dormer founded Remedy Productions and within four years it grew to become the largest producer of entertainment programming in the UK by volume.
In 2011, Remedy was acquired by the Argonon Media Group, and Dormer led the company’s expansion into North America where he executive produced titles such as Cabin Truckers (Cottage Life/A&E), My Floating Home (HGTV/Channel 4) and two seasons of First Dates (Global).
Kelly Wright
MD of distribution
Keshet International
Wright is responsible for Keshet International (KI)’s sales team and is an active member of its global leadership team. She oversees a diverse catalogue of premium dramas, high-quality factual content and flexible formats, continually refreshed by pipelines of content from Israel’s most watched TV channel, Keshet 12, KI’s own production hubs, its partnership with Greenbird and third parties.
Current highlights include Israeli relationship drama A Body that Works, natural history feature Tale of the Sleeping Giants and premium drama The Trial of Christine Keeler.
Formerly senior VP of distribution and new business, Wright joined KI as sales director in 2013 before stepping up to become Keren Shahar’s deputy in 2018 as VP distribution, head of Latin America and executive advisor for Asia Pacific. During her time with the global distributor and producer, Wright has played an integral role in driving forward KI’s distribution strategy and expanding its operations around the world, with a particular focus on the Lat Am and Asia-Pacific regions.
