BBC Studios rejigs factual arm, with Alan Holland to head specialist unit

Alan Holland

BBC Studios (BBCS) has spun a Specialist Factual Productions unit out of its Factual division and appointed former documentary chief Alan Holland to head it up.

The restructuring at BBCS Factual creates two separate teams, each with a distinct editorial focus and leadership.

BBCS Specialist Factual Productions will focus on history, arts, music and culture programing and already has a slate of titles in the works for both the BBC and third parties, including Uncanny, The Great Rhino Robbery, Lost Gold, Disco, Tommy Jessop Goes To Hollywood, Julius Caesar: Rise of the Roman Empire (working title) and Spy Wars (working title).

It will be led by Holland, who was appointed as head of the Documentary Unit at BBCS Factual in 2021 following the exit of Amy Flanagan. Prior to that he served as creative director for the documentary teams in Scotland and Manchester,

The Documentary Unit will meanwhile recruit a new head and will continue to work on obs-doc and constructed factual titles such as Grenfell: The Untold Story, Undercover Police: Hunting Paedophiles and Scam Interceptors.