BBC Studios Australia & NZ hires from Fremantle, Endemol Shine Australia

Warren Clarke and Arianna Gusi

BBC Studios (BBCS) Australia & New Zealand has hired Fremantle’s Warren Clarke as head of scripted and Endemol Shine’s Arianna Gusi as head of unscripted production.

Clarke was formerly head of scripted development at Fremantle Australia, where he exec produced series including Wellmania for Netflix and Rock Island Mysteries for Nickelodeon.

Prior to that, he was development executive at Matchbox Pictures, working on Foxtel’s political drama Secret City, SBS’s Safe Harbour and Rebecca Gibney’s Wanted.

At BBCS, Clarke will be tasked with delivering scripted content with local and global appeal, including original series and Australian adaptations of successful BBCS scripted formats.

BBCS said Clarke’s appointment comes as the studio restructures to gear up for “a major push into premium scripted production” and capitalise on the success of its unscripted business.

In line with this, BBCS Australia & New Zealand’s unscripted head of development and content Deb Spinocchia has been promoted to head of unscripted, while the studio has hired Gusi as head of production for unscripted.

Gusi joins from Endemol Shine Australia, where she was a production executive overseeing the management of international formats including The Voice, MasterChef, The Bachelor and Lego Masters. She has also worked at Zapruders and Fredbird and with a number of UK production companies across multiple genres.

At BBCS, Gusi will oversee the planning and execution of the studio’s unscripted slate.