UKTV has announced that Richard Watsham, Chief Creative Officer at UKTV and Global Director of Acquisitions for BBC Studios/UKTV, will step down from his roles in September following a 14-year tenure in the business.Watsham joined UKTV as a Commissioning Editor in 2011 before being elevated to serve nine years as Director of Commissioning during which time he built and led UKTV’s commissioning team, spearheading its successful originations strategy. He was appointed to his current roles in November 2022 to oversee the content pipeline across UKTV’s portfolio of brands and lead content acquisition activity for BBC Studios’ global branded services.Watsham and his team have been responsible for commissioning thousands of hours of original content, generating the highest-ever rating shows throughout the UKTV network, and winning an array of accolades from International Emmy and Rose D’Or, Broadcast and Broadcasting Press Guild awards to UKTV’s first BAFTAs. Standout hits in entertainment include Taskmaster which Watsham helped develop and was the original commissioner of, multi-award winning Dynamo: Magician Impossible, BAFTA-winning Big Zuu’s Big Eats and the last performance of the Pythons in Monty Python Live (Mostly); Broadcast Award-winning Emma Willis: Delivering Babies, Bangers and Cash and Expedition with Steve Backshall in factual entertainment; and Traces, Annika, The Marlow Murder Club and the recent reimagining of Bergerac in drama.Watsham’s acquisitions team, led by the wonderful Melanie Rumani, who sadly passed away in June, have played a significant part in filling UKTV’s VOD service U with almost 10,000 hours of content from classic British archive to glossy, US studio premieres.Watsham is also the Chair of Action for Freelancers, the pan-industry collaboration set up to address the issues facing the TV freelance community. And he is the Chair of the Creative Diversity Network, whose role in monitoring and promoting representation has helped establish the British TV industry as a global leader in diversity. He will continue in both roles.Marcus Arthur, CEO, UKTV, commented: “Richard’s contribution to UKTV has been immense. His creative vision and leadership have transformed the reputation and scope of UKTV’s content, delivering hits that have delighted and grown our audiences. Alongside this, he has ensured that UKTV has been an advocate for positive change in the industry, driving initiatives in diversity, inclusion and sustainability. We’re incredibly grateful for everything he’s done for the team and the business, and while we understand his decision to seek a new challenge, he will be sorely missed.”Watsham added: “It is always a difficult decision to leave somewhere you love but there are still so many challenges to take on and opportunities to explore that the time is right. Really, the difficulty comes down to the people though. Our resources are leaner compared to some of our competitors, but we have punched above our weight over and over again due to the passion and brilliant expertise of my colleagues at UKTV. They are second to none in the British TV industry; underestimate them at your peril! I will miss them daily, but I have no doubt our paths will cross again in the future.”
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