BBC names Directors of Entertainment and Factual

The BBC has restructured its unscripted commissioning department, naming Ed Havard as Director of Entertainment and Fiona Campbell as Director of Factual.

They replace former Director of Unscripted Kate Phillips, who was promoted to BBC Chief Content Officer in 2025.

The BBC stated the restructure reflects the growing impact of Entertainment and Factual content in a fiercely competitive and fast changing global media market.

As Director of Entertainment at BBC, Havard will oversee and support Entertainment, Daytime, Factual Entertainment, and Events. Havard joins from NBC Universal, where he is Senior Vice President (SVP) of Alternative Programming. Prior to this role, he was Head of Entertainment and TV Events at Channel Four.

On the other hand, Campbell has been interim Director of Unscripted since September 2025, and was previously Controller of Youth Audience, iPlayer, and BBC3. As Director of Factual she will oversee and support Arts and Classical Music TV, Documentaries, Storyville, and Specialist Factual.

Kate Phillips, Chief Content Officer of BBC, said: “In Fiona Campbell and Ed Havard we have two inspirational leaders who will ensure that entertainment and factual content continue to thrive on the BBC… I believe these new roles, allowing more time and focus on individual genres, will bring big benefits to the unscripted division, and all the amazing producers, creatives, and partners we work with.”

The new roles will begin in the spring. In the meantime, Campbell will continue as the Interim Director of Unscripted and Michael Jochnowitz as the Editor of Unscripted.

The BBC Board has confirmed that Rhodri Talfan Davies will act as Interim Director-General, after Director-General Tim Davie officially stands down on 2 April 2026. In doing so, the organisation has revealed that the process to appoint a new Director-General is underway. Discover more here.