Editor of BBC’s The One Show Rob Unsworth will take over the role.
Rob will report into Kate Phillips, the BBC’s Director of Unscripted Content, who is responsible for the overall commissioning strategy for the full range of Unscripted content across Entertainment, Factual, Arts & Classical Music and Daytime, Early-Peak & Events.
Rob Unsworth:
“I’m thrilled to be taking on such an exciting role right at the heart of the schedule. Daytime and Early Peak has an incredible mix of shows that have a real impact on people’s lives. I can’t wait to work with the rest of the brilliant commissioning team to build on its strongest brands, and also find the big new ideas that will lead us into its next chapter.”
Daytime and Early Peak produces a high volume of shows across BBC One and BBC Two, creating the Beeb note ‘high-impact programmes with an emphasis on accessible and inclusive content across consumer, live, factual, factual entertainment, quiz, entertainment and drama.’
BBC Daytime is home to breakout hits such as The Repair Shop, Great British Menu, Strictly It Takes Two, Antiques Road Trip, The One Show, Morning Live, Pointless and Richard Osman’s House of Games. Daytime has also generated dynamic factual shows which are hugely popular with viewers and bring new, underserved audiences to BBC One such as Scam Interceptors and Expert Witness.
Unsworth is replacing former Head of BBC Daytime and Early Peak Commissioning Carla-Maria Lawson. Lindsay Bradbury will continue to be Acting Head of Daytime in the interim.
Rob has been with the BBC since 1997, working on a plethora of programmes, including Watchdog, Blue Peter, and Rogue Traders, as well as working as a Senior Advisor in the Editorial Policy team.
After a number of years running the BBC Studios Factual team in Salford – where he oversaw and developed a string of Daytime successes including Rip Off Britain and For Love or Money, and documentaries for BBC Three – he became Head of The One Show in March 2020, two weeks before Lockdown, facing the immediate challenge of keeping the popular show on air during a pandemic. In addition to doing so, over the same period, he launched Morning Live, which was an instant hit for BBC One.
