C4, BBC alum Babita Bahal to oversee diversity, equity and inclusion at Fremantle

European production group Fremantle has appointed former Channel 4 and BBC executive Babita Bahal to the newly created role of group head of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Babita Bahal

Reporting to group human resources director Nicky Gray, Bahal will drive Fremantle’s global diversity, equity and inclusion strategy.

Bahal joins from Channel 4 where she was head of creative diversity and worked on projects including Black to Front, Paralympics and the Indie Accelerator.

Prior to that, Bahal was the diversity and inclusion lead for BBC Content, where her responsibilities included discovering and developing talent from underrepresented backgrounds.

Bahal said: “Moving to Fremantle is an exciting opportunity to build an inclusive, creative culture within a large, successful, global content creator. I’m delighted to be working with Nicky Gray and the Fremantle leadership team to attract and progress the best people from the widest range of backgrounds, and who reflect a global audience.”

Emma Hardy, Channel 4’s director of commissioning operations, said: “Babita’s contribution to Channel 4 over the past two years has been phenomenal and we look forward working closely with her in her new role as we all strive to bring about the much-needed changes to make the broadcast industry more inclusive and reflective of our audiences and our society.”