Charlotte Moore exits BBC for Sony Pictures Television

Charlotte Moore is to leave the BBC later this year to take up a major role within Sony Pictures Television (SPT).

Moore will join Dear England and The Crown indie Left Bank Pictures as chief executive and will also serve as executive vice-president and creative director of international production at SPT.

She has been BBC chief content officer for four years, and has spent 19 years at the corporation in total, including as BBC1 controller. 

Moore called it a “tough decision” but that the “time is right for a new challenge and a new adventure and to follow my heart to return to making shows”.

She said: “I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved during my time at the helm, transforming our offer and supporting iPlayer to become the fastest growing streamer in the UK. I want to thank my colleagues, my brilliant team and all the incredible producers, directors, writers and on screen and on air talent who’ve made it such a thrilling ride.

“The BBC is an extraordinary place to work and plays a vital role in the UK’s creative ecology. There’s nowhere quite like it that backs risk taking, innovation and homegrown creativity with such commitment and I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the very best programme makers in the business.”

Her appointment comes a day after it was revealed Left Bank founder and chief Andy Harries is to segue into an executive chair role. Moore will work closely alongside Harries for a handover period, and will report into Wayne Garvie, SPT’s president of international production. She will take up her Left Bank and SPT roles later this year.

Moore returns to programme-making having spent the first 15 years of her career as a freelance documentary producer-director. Before joining the BBC she was director of contemporary factual at IWC Media, responsible for series such as Stephen Fry: The Secret Life Of A Manic Depressive.

Garvie said: “It is thrilling to welcome Charlotte to Left Bank and to our Sony Pictures family. One of the outstanding executives of her generation, it will be fantastic to have her leading the phenomenal team at Left Bank into a new era. And as our creative director, she will play a key role in ensuring Sony continues to maximise the opportunities of the digital age.

”I have long had huge respect for Charlotte and everything she has achieved at the BBC. In the rich UK media ecology, PSBs play a pivotal role, and their sustainability is essential. In her storeyed and esteemed career at the BBC, she has been an integral force in continuing to make our national broadcaster a globally renowned institution of the highest regard, and one of which we can all be immensely proud. Welcoming her to Sony and this next chapter for Left Bank is tremendously exciting.”

BBC director general Tim Davie hailed his outgoing content chief, called the former docs commissioner “a creative powerhouse and real visionary” who has “helped transform the BBC in a world of intense competition and choice”.

“Her commitment to homegrown storytelling is unrivalled, and she has a long track record of taking risks and supporting creatives both on and off screen. She has consistently pushed boundaries across genres and platforms to bring audiences an ambitious range and quality of programming,” Davie said.

“I would like to thank her for all her hard work and to wish her the very best for the future. She will be greatly missed but leaves BBC Content in exceptional form. I know the incredibly talented and committed commissioning teams she has put in place will continue the great work.”

Interim plans will be confirmed shortly, and the BBC will begin recruitment immediately for a new chief content officer.