BBC Studios restructures docs unit with BBCS podcast chief & Wonderhood exec appointments

Lion: The Rise and Fall of the Marsh Pride (Source: BBC Studios)

BBC Studios (BBCS) has restructured its documentary division with podcast exec Georgia Moseley and Wonderhood Studios’ Katharine Patrick taking up new roles at the company.

Moseley becomes head of the Documentary Unit while Patrick has been named senior creative director, working with existing editorial leads and creative directors Kirsty Cunningham and Joe Mather.

Patrick and Moseley have been tasked with delivering “documentary storytelling in all its forms from institutional access and compelling human stories, observational singles and series, to bold and innovative constructed and popular factual formats,” BBCS said.

Georgia Moseley

The docs division, which has been behind shows including Grenfell: The Untold Story for Channel 4 and Lion: The Rise and Fall of the Marsh Pride for BBC Two, operates under Kate Ward, BBCS’s MD of factual productions, who left Vice last year to join the UK pubcaster’s commercial arm.

Backgrounds & context

Moseley was most recently creative director of  BBCS’s factual podcast unit and has been behind shows including Stay Free: The Story of the Clash for Spotify and I Am Not Nicholas for Audible.

As head of BBCS’s docs unit, she will be responsible for delivering the growth and management of the documentary business and reports to Ward.

Patrick, meanwhile, is joining from Wonderhood Studios, where she currently heads up its factual arm.

Her remit includes delivering the editorial and creative strategy for the division, overseeing development, content strategy and driving new business.

Prior to Wonderhood, she was head of development at companies including Minnow and Nutopia, with credits on shows such as Baby Surgeons for Channel 4 and the three-part docuseries, Evacuation.

BBCS’s Documentary Unit, which is behind shows ranging from Outlaw for Sky and BBC One’s The Met, was last restructured in 2020 when BBCS Production’s unscripted arm Factual Salford was merged, leaving the unit sitting alongside fellow genre-focused divisions The Natural History Unit and The Science Unit.

Of the new appointments, Ward said: “In Georgia and Katharine we have found a partnership of two outstanding creative leaders, defined by their passion for documentary in all its forms, and fuelled by a shared desire to deliver an ambitious, impactful and contemporary Documentary Unit for BBC Studios.

“Along with Kirsty and Joe they form a powerhouse creative team and we could not be more thrilled to have them all with us at BBC Studios.”

Moseley said: “I couldn’t be more excited to lead the Documentary Unit as it enters a brilliant new chapter. The chance to help build on the Unit’s incredible history and track record is a huge honour – and there is no one better to do this with than Katharine Patrick.

“I can’t wait to get to work and alongside Katharine, Kirsty, Joe and the stellar team, building a slate of stand-out new documentaries together.”

Patrick added: “I am absolutely thrilled to be partnering with the incredibly dynamic Georgia in leading a fresh and exciting new era at the Documentary Unit at BBC Studios.

“I feel extremely fortunate to be given the opportunity to originate and push boundaries through innovative storytelling with the immensely talented Joe, Kirsty and existing team and can’t wait to get started.”