91Èȱ¬

Jana Bennett, Director, 91Èȱ¬ Vision, announced today that Cheryl Taylor, currently 91Èȱ¬ Executive Editor, Out of London, Comedy Commissioning, is the 91Èȱ¬'s new Controller, Comedy Commissioning.

Taylor, currently based in Manchester, will take up the role in the autumn and will remain in Manchester.

In her current role, she has been responsible for nurturing original comedy from the nations and regions – Gavin And Stacey, Sunshine, The Old Guys and Life Of Riley for 91Èȱ¬ One; Rab C Nesbitt Christmas Special, The Cup and 91Èȱ¬ Time for 91Èȱ¬ Two; Lunch Monkeys and The Gemma Factor for 91Èȱ¬ Three; and The Cowards on 91Èȱ¬ Four.

Between August 2006 and May 2007 Cheryl Taylor was Acting Controller, Comedy Commissioning at the 91Èȱ¬, covering Lucy Lumsden's maternity leave.

During this time she re-commissioned Gavin And Stacey (91Èȱ¬ Three) and commissioned Sunshine (91Èȱ¬ One) and Lab Rats (91Èȱ¬ Two) amongst others.

Prior to this she was Head of Comedy at Hat Trick Productions from where she co-created Drop Dead Gorgeous (91Èȱ¬ Three), and executive produced Worst Week Of My Life (91Èȱ¬ One) and Bromwell High (Channel 4).

She began her commissioning career at Channel 4 where she was responsible for Spaced, Black Books and The World Of Derren Brown, amongst others.

Jana Bennett said: "This is the premier job in comedy in the UK. Cheryl taps into the comedy community across the country and is widely respected throughout the industy and by both in-house and independent producers and controllers.

"Our audiences love great comedy and it's extremely important to all of our channels and online. I can't think of a better person to provide healthy doses of laughter than Cheryl."

Cheryl Taylor said: "I'm completely thrilled to be asked to head up the 91Èȱ¬'s extensive comedy operation – and in particular from my Manchester base.

"It's the most exciting and diverse comedy job in the country and I'm delighted that the genre will have such a significant role to play in the 91Èȱ¬'s ongoing commitment to creative communities across the UK."

The 91Èȱ¬ will be recruiting for an Out of London commissioning executive for Comedy who will also be based outside London covering in-house and indies.

KT