BBC Hires ‘Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel’ Commissioner Kalpna Patel-Knight As Head Of Entertainment

Max Goldbart

The BBC has tapped Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel and Blankety Blank Commissioning Editor Kalpna Patel-Knight as its Head of Entertainment, thereby completing its major commissioning restructure.

Patel-Knight will take up the newly-created role in September, which was forged after a restructure that saw former Entertainment Director Kate Phillips become Unscripted Director, overseeing all non-scripted genres.

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Kalpna Patel-Knight
Kalpna Patel-Knight

Patel-Knight has been with the BBC for five years, acting as Commissioning Editor on big-budget series including Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel, Blankety Blank and Wim Hof’s Freeze the Fear.

She is a former Head of Entertainment at UK indie Possessed and has exec produced the likes of Celebs Go Dating.

Patel-Knight’s appointment means Phillip’s non-scripted team is complete, coming after a restructure that was driven by Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore’s decision not to appoint anyone to the vacant Director of Factual, Arts and Classical Music role following a lengthy interview process.

Phillips said: “With her proven track record in production and commissioning, her vision for the future, and her love of entertainment, Kalpna will be a great leader and I look forward to working with her alongside the other heads in unscripted.”

Patel-Knight said: “I’m excited to work with an incredible team, top class talent and suppliers to bring even more sparkle and joy to BBC audiences.”

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