People

Banijay today announces the appointment of producer/ commissioner, Patrick Holland, as Banijay UK’s Executive Chairman. Commencing the role at the beginning of Q2, he joins from the BBC, where he most recently served as Director, Factual, Arts & Classical Music.

In his new post, he will lead the UK’s burgeoning portfolio of 20 premium unscripted and scripted production labels, which comprises Dragonfly, IWC, Kudos, RDF, Remarkable, Shine TV, Tiger Aspect, Workerbee, Yellow Bird UK and Zeppotron. Banijay UK CEO, Lucinda Hicks, will report to Holland, and will work alongside him, continuing to grow the UK business. As Executive Chairman, he will report to Banijay’s Chief Executive Officer, Marco Bassetti, while working closely in-territory with group COO, Peter Langenberg.

Marco Bassetti, Banijay comments: “With unrivalled knowledge of the UK market following a hybrid producer/commissioner career, Patrick couldn’t be better placed to take on the reins of the business and join our global collective of creative entrepreneurs. Sitting at the helm of a portfolio of best-in-class talent, there is huge opportunity to further grow the pipeline of premium programming and build on Banijay UK’s existing track record – we look forward to seeing the local group further soar under his direction.”

Holland added: “Banijay UK represents an extraordinary group of companies, led by some of the very best creatives in the business, so it is hugely exciting to be asked to take on this challenge. The range and quality produced across the labels is unparalleled and, together with the hugely talented Lucinda Hicks, I’ll do all I can to help their continued growth and development. I’ve had six wonderful years as a commissioner at the BBC, but the scope and ambition of the new role made the return to production irresistible.”

Patrick became Director of Factual, Arts & Classical Music in April 2021. Previously, from March 2017, he was Channel Controller of BBC Two, following his earlier appointment as Channel Editor in July 2016.
During his time at BBC Two he oversaw the revitalisation of the channel as an essential cultural force, re-inventing history and documentary output (Once Upon a Time in Iraq, The Detectives, Hospital, Murder 24/7, The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty, House of Assad, Blair and Brown, 9/11 Inside the President’s War Room, The Last Survivors, Forensics) and working with commissioning teams to develop a raft of factual entertainment successes (rejuvenated Top Gear and Sewing Bee with Joe Lycett, Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr, Race Across the World). Under his leadership the channel built an unparalleled pipeline of series that graduated to BBC One, finding even larger audiences and achieving greater impact. It was also during this time BBC Two won the channel of the year awards in 2020 and 2021 at the Edinburgh TV Awards and Broadcast Awards.
BBC Two also saw a rejuvenation of its scripted and entertainment titles. Motherland, Alma’s Not Normal, The Other One and Don’t Forget the Driver were major comedy commissions. Mash Report, Frankie Boyle’s New World Order and The Ranganation represented a major refresh of the comedy entertainment titles on the channel. In drama, Motherfatherson, Black Earth Rising, The Salisbury Poisonings and Giri/Haji saw bold new tones and challenging authorship at the heart of the schedule.
Prior to joining BBC Two, Patrick was Head of Commissioning, Documentaries. During his tenure new returning brands Ambulance, Reported Missing, The Real Marigold Hotel and Hospital were all developed and commissioned. Exodus; Our Journey to Europe won the BAFTA, RTS and Peabody Awards.
Before joining the broadcaster, Patrick was managing director of one of the UK’s biggest factual independent production companies, Boundless (part of Fremantle Media UK) and prior to that, Director of Factual at Ricochet. In 2020 he was the Advisory Chair of the Edinburgh International Television Festival.