BBCWW looking to beef up drama, comedy unit

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the British public broadcaster, is looking to beef up its drama and comedy unit.

The distributor is looking to hire a number of rights and development staff to help the division deal with the increased number of projects with which it is getting involved.

Sarah Doole, head of drama and comedy at BBC Worldwide’s Indie Unit, told TBIvision: “Because we have never been so busy we’re looking to take on a couple of people.”

Doole, who reports to Helen Jackson, BBC Worldwide’s director of its indies unit, is responsible for acquiring international rights for drama and comedy projects. She is also responsible for inking partnerships with indie producers and providing development funding.

Some of the latest projects that she has inked international rights for include Kudos-produced sci-fi drama Outcasts and Impossible Pictures-produced Sinbad, both of which BBC Worldwide will be distributing at next month’s MIPCOM.