UKTV taps Baby Cow’s Waddell

Multi-channel broadcaster UKTV has appointed the head of production at Baby Cow Productions to the same role following the recent departure of Gilly Archer.

Kerry Waddell

Kerry Waddell will join the operator of UK channels such as Alibi, Dave and Drama in March and will report to Richard Watsham, UKTV’s director of commissioning. A spokeswoman for UKTV confirmed to C21 that Archer left the company recently.

Waddell will have ultimate responsibility for the production of all UKTV originals, including the recently announced Judge Romesh, Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier and Cop Car Workshop.

The broadcaster is also pushing into original drama for the first time with four six-part drama series currently planned for Drama and Alibi.

Waddell has spent the past 17 years with Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow, working on comedies such as Alan Partridge, Moone Boy, The Mighty Boosh, Gavin & Stacey, Red Dwarf, Undercover and Zapped. The latter three were produced alongside UKTV.

The channels operator last year revealed its largest ever slate of originals. The company is owned jointly by the BBC and Scripps Networks Interactive, which is in the process of being bought out by Discovery Communications.

Watsham said of Waddell: “Her collaborative approach and the significant experience she’s built up by working on some of the best-known shows in the UK, positions her perfectly for the kind of ambitious projects that we have coming down the line.”