BBC brain drain as heads of drama and film quit for US company

The BBC is set to lose its heads of drama and film after the pair were poached by US company A24.

Director of drama Piers Wenger and director of film Rose Garnett have overseen some huge hits at the corporation, including The Tourist, I May Destroy You and Normal People, and will both leave for their new roles in May.

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A24 is an independent US entertainment company that picked up the best film Oscar in 2017 for Moonlight, and Wenger and Garnett will join as staff based in London.

Wenger said: "After a decade as a drama commissioner it is high time I gave someone else a go. The last six years working for Charlotte [Moore, BBC chief content officer] and the BBC have been more creatively challenging, more emboldening and more fun than anyone has the right to in the name of work.

"I am indebted to the BBC and the extraordinary range of writers, producers and directors it has been my privilege to work alongside.

"There are mountains to climb everywhere but I predict a magical time ahead for BBC Drama as the next generation of thinkers and taste-makers step up to shape its future. I want to pay tribute to the colossal talents of the team in place and I will be watching with pride and awe as they start the process of carving out a fresh vision."

TGarnett said: "The BBC is unparalleled as a place to make great work. Under the inspiring and generous leadership of Charlotte Moore, myself and the Film Team have been able to discover, support and celebrate voices and stories from across the UK and beyond.

"The BBC Film Team was the best team to be part of: dedicated, bold, passionate and rigorous. I know that the creative confidence and the imagination of the next generation of commissions and commissioners will produce wonderful films.

"Thank you to all my colleagues and to the filmmakers that let me work alongside them."

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Moore paid tribute to her outgoing directors, calling Wenger "an outstanding director of drama" and saying that he had been "responsible for commissioning a slate that’s both genre busting and celebrates British authorship, identity and life in all its most diverse forms".

Dramas he has commissioned include The Tourist, The Responder, This is Going to Hurt, The Serpent, A Very British Scandal, His Dark Materials, Time, A Very English Scandal, Bodyguard, Gentleman Jack, Vigil, The Salisbury Poisonings, I May Destroy You and Normal People.

Moore said that Garnett had "built a creatively exciting, bold and distinctive film department" and added that she had been "responsible for bringing an extraordinary range of outstanding British films to audiences across the UK and the globe with titles including The Souvenir 1 & 2, Blue Story, Small Axe, The Nest, The Power of The Dog, Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always, Can’t Get You Out of My Head, Judy, After Love, Ali & Ava Cow, Normal People and People Just Do Nothing – Big in Japan".

Ben Irving will be acting director of BBC Drama and Eva Yates will be acting director of BBC Film until replacements are appointed.

Watch: Trailer for BBC's The Tourist