The man who struck major Channel 4 deals for the likes of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Great is headed to BBC Studios to head up commercial for scripted.Nick Lee is exiting Channel 4 after a decade to join the BBC’s commercial production and distribution operation as Commercial Director, Drama and Comedy. He replaces Caroline Stone, who was promoted to oversee all scripted at the start of this year, and also takes on most of the responsibilities of recently-departed Commercial Director for Comedy Jonathan Blyth, with some of the existing team taking on added responsibilities.Reporting to Scripted Productions COO Saul Venit, Lee will be responsible for developing the commercial strategy for BBC Studios’ overall portfolio, which includes the likes of prison drama Time, Daisy May Cooper’s Am I Being Unreasonable? and Nicolas Winding Refn’s upcoming Famous Five reboot. He will lead on key partnership deals and drive new business.Lee has been at Channel 4 for a decade, holding a variety of roles in the acquisitions team before being promoted to Head of Acquisitions and International two years ago. He has been hugely influential in Channel 4’s strategy to load up VoD player All4 with premium U.S. content such as The Handmaid’s Tale, Fargo, Rick and Morty and The Great. He started his career at ITV and was previously the BBC’s Commercial Manager, Multiplatform & Home Entertainment, a role that positioned him as the face of BBC Production to the market.Mark Linsey, President of BBC Studios Scripted Productions, said Lee has a “proven track record as an astute deal maker and this combined with his passion for drama and comedy is going to make him a fantastic addition to the team.”Lee added: “I’m hugely proud of my achievements at Channel 4 and I now relish the chance to help shape the creative strategy of BBC Studios and work with its stellar portfolio of scripted producers.”
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