The BBC has announced its next intake of assistant commissioners following the announcement of the fourth phase of the Assistant Commissioner Programme last November.
The seven successful candidates will serve a year-long placement, with development opportunities, at the heart of the BBC’s commissioning teams across the UK.
Five of the new assistant commissioners will be based in the Nations and Regions, including Mark Harrison, current affairs commissioner for the Midlands and North of England.
Harrison is a BAFTA and RTS-winning executive producer whose recent credits include Paramedics On Scene and Scotland, Slavery and Statues for the BBC and Rescue: Extreme Medics for Channel 4. He has experience working across documentary, current affairs, specialist factual and factual entertainment genres on programmes such as Dispatches, Panorama and Watchdog.
Harrison started his career as a production trainee at the BBC and said: “I am so excited to get started finding and championing the next generation of brilliant ideas from filmmakers across the Midlands and North of England. I’ve seen first hand the transformative effect of investment from the BBC outside of London and I’m thrilled to have the chance to work in my hometown of Birmingham.”
Now in its fourth round, the BBC’s Assistant Commissioner Programme has a strong track record in developing the careers of diverse talent with alumni going on to further success across the industry. Previous participants include Muslim Alim, BBC commissioning editor, daytime & entertainment; Kate Ansell, commissioning editor, unscripted at Channel 5; Sreya Biswas, BBC head of commissioning, natural history; Dwayne Eaton, commissioning executive, entertainment at Sky; Nawfal Faizullah, BBC commissioning editor Drama; Patrick McMahon, BBC commissioning editor, factual; Kalpna Patel-Knight, BBC head of commissioning, Entertainment; Fatima Salaria, managing director at Naked TV and Julie Shaw, BBC commissioning editor, daytime.
Dawn Beresford, director of talent, commissioning, said: ‘We’re excited to welcome the seven new assistant commissioners to our commissioning teams. The recruitment process has demonstrated the strength of talent in the Nations and Regions and from deaf, disabled and neurodivergent talent pools and I look forward to seeing this new intake continue to flourish in their careers.”
The full seven new assistant commissioners are:
- Gillian Burke – Children’s 0-12 Animated Content, Northern Ireland
- Mark Harrison – Current Affairs, Midlands and North of England
- Sidra Khan –Factual Entertainment & Events, Scotland
- Raphaëlle O’Loan –Documentaries, Northern Ireland
- Denise Mather – Specialist Factual, Wales
- Caroline O’Neill – Unscripted, London
- Rhianna Adams-Christie – Scripted, London
