Category: Factual & Arts TV
Date: 02.03.2005
Printable version
91Èȱ¬ Director of Television Jana Bennett today (Wednesday 2 March) announced that Nicola Moody, Commissioner, Documentaries and Contemporary Factual, has decided not to proceed with an application to take a commissioning editor role in the newly streamlined factual commissioning team.
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Jana Bennett said: "I am very sad to lose Nicola as she has been a key member of the senior television team for a number of years, but I do completely understand her desire for a fresh challenge.
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"She has brought the kind of broad perspective that comes from her career having spanned in-house production, the independent sector, commissioning and running a channel.
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"The same fantastic diversity she has in experience is mirrored in the award-winning output she has delivered across the 91Èȱ¬'s family of channels - from Great Britons and Restoration to Himalaya with Michael Palin, The Hunt for Britain's Paedophiles, the Top Gear revamp and What Not to Wear.
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"We owe her a big thank you and she will be hugely missed."
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Nicola commented: "I've had a fantastic time at the 91Èȱ¬.
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"I'm very proud of the successful range of programmes I've brought to all four channels and it was a wonderful experience running 91Èȱ¬ FOUR but I have decided that it is time for a new challenge.
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"I've thought long and hard about what I want to do with the next phase of my career and while I will miss everyone enormously, there is a lot going on in the wider industry and I want to be part of it."
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Roly Keating, Controller of 91Èȱ¬ TWO, said: "Nicola is a rare creature, with a natural instinct for television.
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"She can spot talent - it was under her leadership that Jamie Oliver and Trinny and Susannah came to our screens; she will take risks but then make them seem no risk at all because they then connect with a wide audience; and she can recognise a big idea and then make it even bigger.
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"When I had to leave 91Èȱ¬ FOUR for a few months, I knew there was no one else I wanted to entrust the channel to; and, during her time there, she played a decisive role in helping to grow the channel's warmth and breadth of appeal.
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"I look forward to working with her again in the future."
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In her current role of Commissioner, Documentaries and Contemporary Factual Nicola's commissions have included the new 91Èȱ¬ ONE version of What Not To Wear, The Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon, Who Do You Think You Are, Watchdog and Grumpy Old Men.
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In 2003, she became acting Controller of 91Èȱ¬ FOUR and played a decisive role in such commissions as The Alan Clark Diaries, The National Trust, Mediterranean Tales and Journey To the Centre of the Earth.
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In 2000 she was appointed Controller of Factual Commissioning by Mark Thompson, then Director of Television.
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Her award-winning commissions included Sahara with Michael Palin, Double Take, Nap Attack, The Boy Can't Help It, The Million Pound Property Experiment and Rick Stein's Food Heroes.
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In April 1997 she joined the ICG. She was soon promoted to Deputy Head of Factual before moving on to Head of Factual in 1999.
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Her commissions included the award-winning The Naked Chef, Beyond the Fatal Shore with Robert Hughes and A Family Of My Own.
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Nicola Moody first joined the 91Èȱ¬ in 1987, initially as a researcher.
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She was later made Deputy Editor of Watchdog, before joining 91Èȱ¬ Manchester in 1993 where she was Editor of Reportage and Executive Producer on various factual series including All Mod Cons and Star Trek Night.
