Naked Television in hunt for new MD with Fatima Salaria set to leave this spring

Fremantle-owned Naked Television is set to appoint a new MD as Fatima Salaria prepares to depart the company she has led since 2020.

Fatima Salaria

Salaria will continue in her role until the spring to ensure a smooth transition, Naked said, with her replacement to be “appointed in due course.”

The exec joined Naked Television from Channel 4 and was tasked with overseeing a slate of programmes including The Apprentice (BBC One), The Rap Game (BBC Three), Snowflake Mountain (Netflix), 60 Days with… (Channel 4) and Tonight with Target (BBC Three).

Fremantle merged Naked with fellow UK prodco Boundless ahead of Salaria’s arrival in the second half of 2020.

During her time at Naked, Salaria has been responsible for increasing the company’s revenue and expanding its remit into documentaries with titles including Ghislaine, Prince Andrew & the Paedophile (ITV), The Killer Nanny: Did She Do It? (C4), Planet Sex with Cara Delevingne (Hulu and BBC Three) and How the Other Half Live with Brian Cox (Channel 5).

Prior to Naked, Salaria was head of specialist factual at C4, responsible for history, science, natural history and arts and adventure programming.

Before that, she worked at the BBC as commissioning editor for religion and ethics. In her spell at the pubcaster, she acted as the principal commissioner for Who Do You Think You Are?, commissioned Muslims Like Us and curated the Black & British and Big British Asian Summer seasons.

Salaria is currently the executive chair of the Edinburgh Television Festival and sits on the board of UK factual body The Grierson Trust.

Salaria said of her time at Naked: “My mission was not just to merge two companies and increase revenue but also to help foster a truly inclusive culture. I couldn’t be happier with the shows we have made and the team we have built, and will miss both terribly.

“As we have grown, I have realised the balance between the managerial side and the creative side has shifted and, for me, it’s now time to equalise the two. There’s never a good time to leave what you love, and while this has been a tough decision, I look forward to taking some time out before moving onto my next chapter.”

Simon Andreae, CEO of Fremantle UK, added: “We’ve been incredibly lucky to have Fatima, and everyone at Fremantle will miss her greatly. It’s been wonderful to see Naked grow and expand under her leadership – she has helped set a new path for the company and she leaves with a raft of exciting new projects in the pipeline for Naked. We all wish her the very best for the future.”