Chief content officer Charlotte Moore to leave BBC
She joined the corporation in 2006.
The BBC’s chief content officer, Charlotte Moore, is to leave the corporation later in the year, it has been announced.
Moore, who has been in that role since September 2020, is leaving to join Left Bank Pictures as chief executive and Sony Pictures Television as EVP, creative director of international production.
This comes at the end of a turbulent time for the BBC, and criticism of a documentary about Gaza that featured the son of a former Hamas leader.
The PA news agency understands Moore’s departure is not connected to matters regarding the Gaza documentary.
Moore said in a statement: “It’s been an honour to lead the BBC creatively as chief content officer at a time of unprecedented change, championing the very best British storytelling across radio and TV.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved during my time at the helm, transforming our offer and supporting iPlayer to become the fastest growing streamer in the UK.
“I want to thank my colleagues, my brilliant team and all the incredible producers, directors, writers and on screen and on air talent who’ve made it such a thrilling ride.”
“The BBC is an extraordinary place to work and plays a vital role in the UK’s creative ecology.
“There’s nowhere quite like it that backs risk taking, innovation and homegrown creativity with such commitment and I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the very best programme makers in the business.
“So it’s been a tough decision to leave a job I love and an institution I believe in.
“But I’ve decided the time is right for a new challenge and a new adventure and to follow my heart to return to making shows.
“It’s an honour to join the brilliant team at Left Bank Pictures to become CEO of one of the UK’s most successful production companies.
“I’m excited to be returning to programme making and I’m thrilled to be joining Wayne Garvie and Sony Pictures Television as EVP, creative director.”
Moore, who joined the BBC in 2006 as a commissioning executive for documentaries, takes over in her new role from Andy Harries, who continues as an executive producer at Left Bank Pictures and will become the company’s executive chairman.
Harries heralded Netflix drama The Crown through Left Bank Pictures, and he picked up the Harvey Lee Award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting at the 2024 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.
Tim Davie, BBC director-general, called Moore “a creative powerhouse and real visionary who has made a huge impact during her time at the BBC”.
He added: “Her commitment to homegrown storytelling is unrivalled, and she has a long track record of taking risks and supporting creatives both on and off screen.
“She has consistently pushed boundaries across genres and platforms to bring audiences an ambitious range and quality of programming.”
He added that she has “taken bold decisions to deliver remarkable growth and set us up for further success in a digital age, on both the national and global stage” and “everyone who has worked with Charlotte has huge admiration and respect for her”.
Mr Davie said: “She is passionate about the power of the UK’s creative industries and the role of the BBC at their heart
“I would like to thank her for all her hard work and to wish her the very best for the future.
“She will be greatly missed but leaves BBC Content in exceptional form. I know the incredibly talented and committed commissioning teams she has put in place will continue the great work.”
Moore was previously director of BBC Content, responsible for the BBC’s channels, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sports, from July 2016 to 2020.
Between 2013 and 2016, she was controller of BBC One when the channel delivered hit shows The Night Manager, Doctor Foster, Three Girls, Peter Kay’s Car Share, Blue Planet and Planet Earth.
In 2023, Moore was given the Royal Television Society’s judges’ award for her “incredible leadership she has provided the BBC in a remarkable year for innovation, creativity and seismic current affairs”.
Before the BBC, she was a director of contemporary factual at IWC Media, where she was behind the BBC Four documentary Stephen Fry: The Secret Life Of A Manic Depressive, after spending 15 years doing freelance in the industry.
In an open letter, released on Wednesday, and addressed to Mr Davie, chairman Samir Shah and Moore hundreds of TV and film professionals and journalists criticised the decision to remove Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone from BBC iPlayer.
The letter, published by the Artists For Palestine UK website, was signed by more than 500 UK-based media professionals, including broadcaster Gary Lineker and Harry Potter film series star Miriam Margolyes.
The BBC said earlier this month it was pulling the documentary as it conducts “further due diligence with the production company”.
It also apologised after it emerged that contributor Abdullah Al-Yazouri, who speaks about what life is like in the territory amid the war between Israel and Hamas, is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.
Further accusations have been made about Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, such as claims that other children were pictured with the militant group Hamas.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has called for the licence fee to “be suspended pending a full independent inquiry into bias at the BBC”.
The BBC is recruiting for a new chief content officer, it also said.
