Patrick Holland joins Banijay as UK executive chairman
Details
Faye Sutton
| 15 December 2021
Banijay UK has announced the appointment of producer/commissioner Patrick Holland as executive chairman.

hollandStarting the role at the beginning of Q2, he joins from the BBC, where he most recently served as director, factual, arts & classical music.

In his new post, Holland will lead Banijay UK’s portfolio of 20 premium unscripted and scripted production labels, which comprises Dragonfly, IWC, Kudos, RDF, Remarkable, Shine TV, Tiger Aspect, Workerbee, Yellow Bird UK and Zeppotron. Banijay UK CEO, Lucinda Hicks, will report to Holland, and will work alongside him, continuing to grow the UK business. Holland will report to Banijay’s CEO Marco Bassetti, while working closely in-territory with group COO Peter Langenberg.

Bassetti commented: “With unrivalled knowledge of the UK market following a hybrid producer/commissioner career, Patrick couldn’t be better placed to take on the reins of the business and join our global collective of creative entrepreneurs. Sitting at the helm of a portfolio of best-in-class talent, there is huge opportunity to further grow the pipeline of premium programming and build on Banijay UK’s existing track record – we look forward to seeing the local group further soar under his direction.”

Holland added: “Banijay UK represents an extraordinary group of companies, led by some of the very best creatives in the business, so it is hugely exciting to be asked to take on this challenge. The range and quality produced across the labels is unparalleled and, together with the hugely talented Lucinda Hicks, I’ll do all I can to help their continued growth and development. I’ve had six wonderful years as a commissioner at the BBC, but the scope and ambition of the new role made the return to production irresistible.”

During his time at BBC Two Holland oversaw the revitalisation of the channel as a cultural force, re-inventing history and documentary output (Once Upon a Time in Iraq, The Detectives, Hospital, Murder 24/7, The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty, House of Assad, Blair and Brown, 9/11 Inside the President’s War Room, The Last Survivors, Forensics) and working with commissioning teams to develop a raft of factual entertainment successes (rejuvenated Top Gear and Sewing Bee with Joe Lycett, Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr, Race Across the World).

BBC Two also saw a rejuvenation of its scripted and entertainment titles. Motherland, Alma’s Not Normal, The Other One and Don’t Forget the Driver were major comedy commissions. Mash Report, Frankie Boyle’s New World Order and The Ranganation represented a major refresh of the comedy entertainment titles on the channel. In drama, Motherfatherson, Black Earth Rising, The Salisbury Poisonings and Giri/Haji saw bold new tones and challenging authorship at the heart of the schedule.