The BBC’s radical overhaul of the content team is beginning to take shape as Syeda Irtizaali and Jo Smith have been appointed as new portfolio editors for TV networks BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four.
As part of the restructuring announced last December, the BBC is scrapping the TV channel controller role for the first time in decades. Instead, portfolio editors are appointed to curate shows, mostly commissioned by genre heads with supercharged forces for iPlayer.
One of these new roles is joining Irtizaali, who will oversee BBC One, the company’s largest and most important television network. After a decade on Channel 4, she joined the BBC as an entertainment commissioner in February 2020.
Since joining the BBC, Irtizaali has overseen shows such as Top Gear, MasterChef and Peter Crouch Save Our Summer by Fulwell 73. While at Channel 4, she commissioned hits like The Last Leg and The Million Pound Drop.
Smith will oversee BBC Two and BBC Four, having been Executive Editor at BBC Three since 2019, and help oversee the iPlayer startup strategy of the online-only channel. She joined the BBC in 2018 after working as an executive producer on shows like 24 Hours in A&E.
They will take on their new roles on April 12th, reporting to Dan McGolpin, the BBC’s director for iPlayer and Channels. As portfolio editors, you will not have mandate authority, but will help shape the BBC’s TV offering by highlighting the content of genre directors in green.
“In Syeda and Jo we have two passionate and inspired leaders who will ensure that BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four continue to act as modern, relevant and popular channels,” said McGolpin.
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