Phil Clarke


TBI Weekly: Windowing battle brews for the BBC  

Senior producers and BBC Studios execs have spoken out about the public broadcaster’s plans to extend the 30-day iPlayer window into a full year, as BBC Two lags six months behind Amazon’s premiere date for big-budget co-production Good Omens. The future of the BBC’s catch-up service – where hit show Bodyguard racked up around 10.8m views […]

BBCWW backs new Peep Show team indie

BBC Worldwide (BBCWW) has backed a new indie formed by Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, the writers behind Peep Show and Fresh Meat. Various Artists Limited (VAL) will be lead by Bain and Armstrong, who have joined forces with former Channel 4 commissioners Phil Clarke and Roberto Troni on the venture. BBCWW will take a […]

BBCWW buys into debuting Hincks, Fincham prodco

Expectation, the indie Peter Fincham and Tim Hincks created last year, has secured financial backing from BBC Worldwide and hired ex-Endemol Shine UK and Channel 4 execs for key creative posts. The BBC’s commercial arm have swooped for a 24.9% stake in the producer for an undisclosed amount, a deal that comes just before the […]

BBC poaches Channel 4 drama chief

Channel 4’s drama chief Piers Wenger is leaving the UK broadcaster to join the territory’s pubcaster, the BBC. Wenger (pictured) has beaten off competition to land the role of controller, BBC drama commissioning, which is th most high-profile position in British sciripted television. He begins this autumn. In turn, Channel 4 has promoted deputy head […]

Channel 4 developing Peep Show duo sitcom

Channel 4 may be soon losing its longest-running sitcom, Peep Show, but the UK broadcaster is already developing another comedy with the programme’s stars. Comic duo David Mitchell and Robert Webb, who play the feckless Mark and Jeremy in Objective Productions-produced Peep Show, are working with Channel 4’s head of comedy, Phil Clarke, on new […]

Friends star Schwimmer returns to Channel 4

David Schwimmer (above, far right) is to star in a new Channel 4 comedy from Nighty Night writer Julia Davis. Endemol Shine Group-owned Brown Eyed Boy in association with Sony Pictures Television is to produce Morning Has Broken, which follows the fortunes of a failing morning television show. Schwimmer will play an American television executive […]

Channel 4 hires Objective’s Phil Clarke as head of comedy

British broadcaster Channel 4 has hired Objective Productions exec Phil Clarke as head of comedy. Clarke has been responsible for a raft of successful British comedies including the first season of Peep Show, Fresh Meat, Bo Selecta and Never Mind The Buzzcocks. He was previously head of comedy and entertainment at Objective Productions, which is […]