People Just Do Nothing producer Jon Petrie takes over from Shane Allen

Jon Petrie as has been appointed to the top job in BBC comedy: director of comedy commissioning.

He takes over from Shane Allen, who announced he was leaving the Corporation earlier this year after nine years at the helm to go back to making shows, rather than ordering them.

Petrie moves from Charlie Brooker’s production house Broke and Bones, where he was head of comedy.

Before that he was a commissioning editor at Channel 4 overseeing The Windsors, Friday Night Dinner and Dead Pixels.

He started his career at Talkback Productions and Roughcut Television and went on to bring new talent to television, including Anna and Katy, Stath Lets Flats and People Just Do Nothing.

Petrie said: ‘Shane has done an incredible job of banging the drum for UK comedy over the last few years. He leaves massive clown shoes to fill, and I’m under no illusions about the magnitude of the task ahead of me.

‘As a team, BBC Comedy Commissioning will continue to develop comedy with the most exciting new and established talent, both on and off-screen, that speaks to everyone across the UK. It’s not like we couldn’t all do with a laugh right now.’

His job will be to commission  scripted comedy programmes to BBC channels and BBC iPlayer. His start date is yet to be announced.

He will report to Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s chief content officer, who said: ‘Jon is a talented creative with a passion for comedy and an impressive track record for spotting new and diverse talent from across the UK and creating mainstream hits.’

Published: 9 Jul 2021