Clements makes first SMG hiring

Piers Morgan’s BBC1 series The Dark Side of Fame

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Alan Clements has made his first major appointment at Scottish media group SMG, handing the role of head of entertainment and factual to Paul Murray.

Murray currently works at Crackit Productions where he was series editor on Piers Morgan's BBC1 series The Dark Side of Fame and Channel 4 documentary F**k Me I've Bought A Zoo.

Before that he worked for Endemol, where he established the group's Scottish office with key productions such as BBC1's You Can't Fire Me I'm Famous.

Murray will take up the new role on 20 October and will be based at SMG's head office at Pacific Quay in Glasgow.

Clements, director of content at SMG, said: "Paul is a huge creative talent in the genres of entertainment and factual. Rich, quality content is critical to the success of STV as we aim to become a key provider to all network channels. With Paul's strong track record he will be an invaluable member of the team."

Murray added: "I can't wait to get started at STV. I see a lot of opportunity for the business and I'm looking forward to working with Alan and the rest of the team."

Murray's appointment marks the first in a raft of new plans by Clements, planned as part of an ongoing review of the content business and due to be announced in the coming weeks

Clements, the husband of Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, only joined SMG earlier this month after his former employer RDF Media won a legal case to stop him joining a rival before December 2008.

He was found to have been in breach of a non-compete clause in his contract after holding negotiations with SMG.

SMG is due to change its name to STV from tomorrow.