Mark Linsey confirmed in top BBC television role

The BBC’s entertainment commissioning chief Mark Linsey has been confirmed as its new deputy director of television.

Linsey will add the role to his current duties as controller, entertainment commissioning. The new duties include becoming the BBC’s point person for its relationship with multichannel broadcaster UKTV, in which the BBC has a 50% stake.

BBC director of television Danny Cohen announced the news internally, adding Linsey would deputise for him when he is away.

Linsey is understood to have gone for the BBC One controller job that Cohen left open when he was promoted to television boss earlier this year but lost out to the BBC’s factual supremo, Charlotte Moore.