Hilary Martin
A new head of BBC drama has been appointed for the North – Hilary Martin. She joined the BBC in 2008 and was previously was a producer at ITV, worked in the commissioning department at Sky and script edited shows such as No Angels and Linda Green.
Martin was the executive producer for Drama North’s critically acclaimed series In The Flesh beautifully re-invented the zombie genre for BBC Three and won the team a BAFTA award for Best Mini-Series and Best Writer for newcomer
She said: “I am thrilled to be asked to lead Drama North into an exciting new future. Building on the success of In The Flesh and The Secret Of Crickley Hall we look forward to working with the very best talent in the industry to deliver modern, surprising and emotionally powerful shows to the widest audience possible.”
Her appointment was announced today by Mark Freeland, controller of fiction & entertainment, BBC as one of three new Head of Drama England roles which have been created including two positions in London.
Working closely with Ben Stephenson, controller of BBC Drama, the new structure is intended to ensure BBC Drama is in the best possible shape to lead creatively and produce the most ambitious and thrilling drama.
Freeland said: “With this new structure, we are putting talent right at the forefront of everything In-house Drama does – on and off screen. Exciting times.”
Hilary Salmon has been appointed to one of the London roles with the remaining London position still to be confirmed.
BBC In-house Drama averages 60% of the entire drama slate across the UK, from series and serials to continuing drama and from peak to daytime. It is a department of exciting scale. Dynamically led creativity is right at its heart.
The three Head of Drama England roles join creative leaders across the UK, alongside Faith Penhale, Head of Drama Wales, Christopher Aird, Head of Drama Scotland and Stephen Wright, Head of Drama, Northern Ireland. The new appointments are part of a restructure within existing headcount levels.
