BBC appoints Kalpna Patel-Knight as Head of Entertainment Commissioner

BBC Television has tapped Kalpna Patel-Knight for a new role as Head of Entertainment Commissioning, which will include commissioning entertainment on Linear and BBC streaming service iPlayer.

Patel-Knight will also oversee original programming, which equates to approximately 500 hours of programming annually.

The role was established following the closure of the Entertainment Director role during a recent senior management reshuffle. Patel-Knight will report to non-script director Kate Phillips and lead the BBC Entertainment commissioning team.

Patel-Knight, who takes up the new role on September 5, was previously the BBC editor on shows including Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel, Blankety Blank and Wim Hof’s Freeze the Fear. She has over 20 years of television experience having previously worked as Head of Entertainment at Possessed producing entertainment shows such as Celebs Go Dating and Surprise Surprise.

“I’m thrilled to be taking on this new role,” said Patel-Knight. “I look forward to working with an incredible team, quality talent and suppliers to bring even more sparkle and joy to BBC audiences. Thank you Kate Phillips for giving me this opportunity.”

Phillips added, “After a competitive application process with an incredibly strong field of candidates, I am delighted that Kalpna has accepted the role of Head of Entertainment. With her proven track record in production and launch, her vision for the future and her love of entertainment, she will be a great leader and I look forward to working with her along with the rest of the minds at Unscripted.”

A replacement for Patel-Knight’s previous editor-in-chief role will be selected in due course.