Channel 4 boosts factual and docs departments with new appointments

4 August 2011

Channel 4 today announces new appointments to the Specialist Factual, Documentaries and Factual Entertainment teams.

 

Jill Fullerton-Smith
Jill Fullerton-Smith is joining the Specialist Factual Commissioning team as Commissioning Editor, where she will work across the department's remit and report into Head of Specialist Factual Ralph Lee.

Fullerton-Smith is a multi-award winning director, producer and executive producer. She joins from the BBC's Specialist Factual Unit in Scotland where she has spent the last four years as Creative Director delivering series such as the high-end, graphics-rich Discovery co-production Richard Hammond's Journey to the Bottom of the Sea and Richard Hammond's Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Jimmy Docherty's single Crop to Shop and series Jimmy's Food Factory.

Her high-profile production credits for BBC London Science include The Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, The Truth About Food, Space Race and Little Angels.

Head of Specialist Factual Ralph Lee says: "I'm delighted that Jill will be joining us.  I've been a big admirer of her output and her ability to generate major Specialist Factual projects which really appeal to audiences and have scale and impact."

Jill Fullerton-Smith says:  "It's an exciting time to be joining C4 and I am absolutely delighted to be part of their Specialist Factual Commissioning team."

Fullerton-Smith began her career as a freelance documentary maker working across Arts, Natural History and Education. She was Emmy-nominated for her work as director on Made Alive: Miracle of the Andes series for Spielberg's producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy and has produced and directed editions of the BBC's flagship science strand Horizon.

 

Emma Cooper
Channel 4 has appointed a new Documentaries Commissioning Editor - Emma Cooper. Reporting into the Head of Documentaries Hamish Mykura, she will commission both singles and series across the genre.

Cooper joins from the BBC where she has been series producing and directing Louis Theroux's output since 2008 - most recently the two-part series Louis Theroux:  Miami Mega Jail, in which he gained unprecedented and exclusive access to the complete jail and court system of Miami county; and Louis Theroux: A Place for Paedophiles.

Head of Documentaries Hamish Mykura says:  "Emma is an excellent addition to the team, bringing extensive series production experience, ambitious ideas and an instinct for great story-telling."

Emma Cooper says:  "It is an incredibly exciting time to be joining Channel 4 and a massive honour to be joining the acclaimed documentary department. I look forward to working with some great indies to bring groundbreaking programmes to the channel."

Cooper first joined the BBC as a Religion and Ethics researcher before moving across to the Documentaries Development Unit in 2003. She has worked across a range of documentaries output including Mischief: Let's Make a Baby, The Week the Women Went and Martha and Me.

 

Kathleen Larkin
Channel 4 has also hired a Development Executive to bolster the Factual Entertainment department and work more closely with production companies throughout the development process.

Kathleen Larkin will work with independent production companies as they develop ideas and formats for the department at a time when Factual Entertainment is putting more resources into programme development.

The role is intended to be a conduit between Channel 4 and producers in order to improve and speed up the development process - from initial concept to commission - and offer producers additional face time with the Channel 4 commissioning team.

Kathleen has extensive experience of the production process and has worked for a wide range of production companies including RDF, TalkbackTHAMES, Betty, the BBC and Granada, making programmes for all major broadcasters.

She most recently series produced Lily Allen: From Riches to Rags and worked on programmes ranging from one-off documentaries to formats such as Faking It and Wife Swap. Kathleen will report into Deputy Head of Factual Entertainment, Liam Humphreys.

Liam Humphreys said: "Kathleen has been brought in specifically to work with independent production companies as they develop ideas and formats for Factual Entertainment at a time when the department is putting more resources into programme development. Kathleen is a true creative who has made some great programmes for us in the past and bringing her experience specifically to the development process will help take seed ideas to the screen."

Kathleen Larkin said: "Factual Entertainment programmes at Channel 4 were the reason I wanted to get into television, so to have this chance to work in the team and be at the creative hub of programme conception and development is a fantastic opportunity."