Cheryl Taylor to run CBBC

The BBC’s top comedy commissioner, Cheryl Taylor, is leaving to run the CBBC kids’ channel.

As controller of comedy commissioning she has been responsible for Twenty Twelve, Mrs Brown's Boys and the forthcoming Citizen Khan.

Before joining the BBC in 2006, Taylor was head of comedy at Hat Trick Productions, where she co-created Drop Dead Gorgeous for BBC Three.

But she began her commissioning career at Channel 4 where she ordered comedies such as the Spaced and Black Books.

Taylor is already based in Salford, where the children's department relocated last year.

She said she felt ‘very privileged’ about her new post, where she will have a budget of around £78 million – but also have to oversee some of the cost-cutting being implemented across the corporation.

Children's programming will be removed from BBC One and Two once digital switchover is complete and focussed on CBBC and the toddlers’ channel Cbeebies.

The outgoing head of CBBC, Damian Kavanagh, has left to be head of features and factual formats at Channel 4, responsible for the likes of Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and Gordon Ramsay’s shows.

Published: 29 Jun 2012