Richard Watsham to exit UKTV after 14 years

UKTV’s chief creative officer Richard Watsham is stepping down from the broadcaster after 14 years.

The long-term exec will depart the business in September and said he is looking for a new challenge after a prolonged period at the broadcaster. It is understood he is exploring options, and no new job is imminent. It is currently unclear what UKTV’s succession plans are following his departure.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Watsham joined UKTV as a commissioning editor in 2011, before serving as director of commissioning for nine years, building UKTV’s award-winning commissioning team and spearheading its originations strategy.

He was promoted to chief creative officer in November 2022 and was handed the role of global director of acquisitions for BBC Studios and UKTV at the same time.

In the roles he has overseen the content pipeline across UKTV’s portfolio of brands and led content acquisition activity for BBC Studios’ global branded services.

During his tenure, UKTV has transformed its commissioning strategy, almost tripling its content spend and generating three times the volume of original programming hours. This includes expanding its genre output from lifestyle content into documentary, factual entertainment, comedy entertainment, and scripted comedy and its largest ever drama slate.

High-profile titles include UKTV’s breakout comedy entertainment format Taskmaster, which Watsham helped to develop and was its original commissioner before it moved to Channel 4 in 2019. He also presided over Bafta-winning format Big Zuu’s Big Eats, and scripted series Traces and ratings hit Annika.

His acquisitions team, led by the late Melanie Rumani, also played a major part of UKTV’s VoD service U, swelled its library to almost 10,000 hours of content.

Wastsham is also the chair of pan-industry collaboration group Action For Freelancers, which has been set up to address the issues facing the TV freelance community and is chair of the Creative Diversity Network, which monitors and promotes representation in TV. He will continue in both of these roles.

UKTV chief executive Marcus Arthur described Watsham’s contribution to UKTV as “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,” Arthur added.

“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.”