BBC announces new Head of Drama England roles

Working closely with Ben Stephenson, Controller of BBC Drama, the new structure will ensure BBC Drama is in the best possible shape to lead creatively and produce the most ambitious and thrilling drama. 

Hilary Salmon has been appointed to a London role and Hilary Martin to the North role, with the remaining London position still to be confirmed.

BBC In-house Drama averages 60% of the entire drama slate across the UK, from series and serials to continuing drama and from peak to daytime. It is a department of exciting scale. Dynamically led creativity is right at its heart.

The three Head of Drama England roles join creative leaders across the UK, alongside Faith Penhale, Head of Drama Wales, Christopher Aird, Head of Drama Scotland and Stephen Wright, Head of Drama, Northern Ireland. The new appointments are part of a restructure within existing headcount levels.

Ben Stephenson, Controller of BBC Drama, says: “This dynamic BAFTA-winning pair are the first part of a new-look In-house that will aim to be at the forefront of modern television drama.”

Mark Freeland, Controller of Fiction and Entertainment, adds: “With this new structure, we are putting talent right at the forefront of everything In-house Drama does – on and off screen. Exciting times."

Hilary Salmon, who has been heading up Series and Serials production following the departure of Kate Harwood (former Head of Drama England), joined the BBC as an executive producer in 1998, and has been responsible for titles as diverse as Nature Boy, Babyfather and The Long Firm.

Her shows Shoot The Messenger, Eroica and Criminal Justice have all won the prestigious Prix Italia and her iconic show Criminal Justice won both the BAFTA and the Broadcast Award for Best Mini-Series, the International Emmy and RTS for Best Actor for Ben Wishaw and the BAFTA Writer’s Award for Peter Moffat.

She has also co-produced shows with American network HBO: Five Days, The Passion and House Of Saddam, which won the Grierson Award and she has also been responsible for the thrillers Inside Men, What Remains and One Night and the hugely popular legal series Silk. Hilary is currently making Guy Hibbert's China-set thriller One Child for BBC Two and the second season of Original Drama Shorts for BBC iPlayer.

Hilary Salmon says: "The amazing output of BBC In-house Drama is very close to my heart and I am delighted to be taking on a new role in helping to define its future at this exciting time for Original British Drama."

Hilary Martin, who takes up Head of Drama England, North, joined the BBC in 2008. Drama North's critically acclaimed series In The Flesh beautifully re-invented the zombie genre for BBC Three and won the team a BAFTA award for Best Mini-Series and Best Writer for newcomer Dominic Mitchell. The programme also won the Broadcast Digital award for Best Scripted Programme.

The team brought James Herbert's ghostly chiller The Secret Of Crickley Hall and Winifred Holtby's Southriding to over seven million viewers on BBC One. They also developed and produced stand-out daytime shows 32 Brinkburn Street and The Preston Passion.

Previously, Hilary was a producer at ITV, worked in the commissioning department at Sky and script edited shows such as No Angels and Linda Green.

Hilary Martin says: "I am thrilled to be asked to lead Drama North into an exciting new future. Building on the success of In The Flesh and The Secret Of Crickley Hall we look forward to working with the very best talent in the industry to deliver modern, surprising and emotionally powerful shows to the widest audience possible."

CI2