ITV commissioner Ben Kelly joins Netflix’s unscripted team

Dating Around

ITV commissioner Ben Kelly is joining Netflix’s non-scripted team out of London.

The exec, who previously served as an entertainment commissioner for the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? broadcaster, is to serve as manager of non-fiction series for Netflix, looking after global entertainment formats out of the UK.

Kelly’s credits include the rebooted Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? on ITV, as well as The X Factor and Zone of Champions.

The exec joins a team that includes former Channel 4 commissioner Lucy Leveugle – who joined Netflix out of London to head unscripted originals for EMEA last October, as revealed by TBI – as well as original docs directors Diego Buñuel and Kate Townsend.

Kelly’s hire comes as the streaming giant continues to grow its European footprint with commissioning hires in Paris and Berlin, as revealed by TBI last month.

The exec will also work closely with former ITV Studios Germany and Seapoint Productions exec Jennifer Mival, a German exec who is handling non-fiction series for EMEA and joined in June. As reported previously, the exec held meetings at last month’s Edinburgh TV Festival with Netflix’s UK and US teams.

Kelly’s appointment was first reported by Deadline.