New Pictures and Keshet alumna emerges at Wolf Hall indie

Keshet’s inaugural UK chief operating officer and former New Pictures exec Christine Healy has been appointed director of production at Colin Callender’s indie Playground, Broadcast can reveal.

Healy, who stood down from her role at Keshet in June after a year, will effectively replace long-time head of production Noëlette Buckley, who has been running the company’s production slate since its 2012 inception.

Buckley will continue to serve as an exec producer for the indie on specific projects, having most recently executive produced BBC1’s Wolf Hall: The Mirror And The Light.

Working out of the London office, and reporting to joint managing directors Scott Huff and David Stern, Healy will take the reins for all series including upcoming crime dramas Maigret for PBS Masterpiece and Lynley for Britbox and BBC1, and Channel 5 returner All Creatures Great and Small.

At Keshet, Healy oversaw the UK arm of its global production and distribution arm Keshet International. She previously held the same role at Watford & Essex, a Bristol-based company launched in partnership with Legendary Global, which has recently appointed liquidators ahead of winding up.

During her four years at New Pictures, Healy led production on series including Sky’s Cobra and Catherine the Great and ITV’s Des.

She previously worked at the BBC, including as a production consultant for Our Girl and Silent Witness. She also served as line producer for Doctor Foster and Indian Summers.

Healy also serves as deputy chair of the Bafta TV committee, as a recently elected member of the Pact Council, and within the HETV Skills Fund Council at ScreenSkills, where she helps foster talent and champion sustainable growth and inclusivity within the industry.

Stern and Huff said: “Christine’s appointment as director of production comes at a pivotal time as we manage our largest-ever slate of continuing series and expand our programming into new genres.

“We have worked with Christine over the years and have always been impressed by her deep knowledge of production, her professionalism and leadership, and her exceptional taste. We are thrilled to have her on the Playground team and believe she has the depth of experience to help us to both deliver on our current slate of projects and realise our growing ambitions.”

Playground operates from New York and London and is also responsible for dramas including The Hardacres for C5 and Small Town, Big Story, created and directed by Chris O’Dowd for Sky.