BBC Head of Comedy John Petrie is leaving his post after five years to join Hat Trick Productions.
Petri is the author of such projects as Small Prophets, Amandaland, Dreaming While Black и Such Brave Girls.
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He will take up the position of creative director at Hat Trick, the company that created the series.» Derry Girls «" and called it "a rare and truly exciting opportunity" in the "pioneer of the producing community.".
Petrie will leave the BBC in August, with Emma Lawson taking over as interim Director of Comedy effective immediately. He joined the BBC from Charlie Brooker's independent series "Broke and Bones," and previously worked at Roughcut and Channel 4.
«Leaving the BBC after five brilliant years is a huge loss. It’s an extraordinary place, full of incredibly talented, decent, and funny people, and I was incredibly fortunate to work under Kate Phillips,» said Petrie. «I grew up seeing that [Hat Trick] logo at the end of my favorite shows, which is both thrilling and a rather cruel reminder of my age. Jimmy and the team have a truly forward-thinking vision for scripts, short films, and artificial intelligence, and while I understand it’s a challenging transition from gamekeeper to poacher, I’ve missed the production side of things and firmly believe there’s still a huge opportunity ahead for British comedy. I’m excited to help shape what’s next.».
Phillips, the BBC's chief content officer, said Petrie had a "massive influence" and was "undoubtedly the greatest supporter of British comedy." "John's vision and dedication have led to a remarkable number of hit shows, reflecting his commitment to giving original voices the space to boldly experiment," she said. "Under John's leadership, it was a fantastic time for the genre.".
Jimmy Mulville, founder of Hat Trick, who has collaborated with Petrie for many years, said: "John and Hat Trick share similar comedic DNA and we look forward to working with him.".
In 2021, Petrie took over from Shane Allen as the head of Britain's biggest comedy project, and is generally considered to be handling the helm well during a challenging era for comedy production.
Among his breakthrough works are TV series «"Small Prophets", "Ludwig"» и «Amandaland» , and shows like «Ghosts» и «Gavin & Stacey, reached new heights. Other hits include «"Black Ops", "Death Valley", "Dreaming While Black", "Such Brave Girls"» и «We Might Regret This» .
He has also repeatedly spoken out about the need for greater support for British comedy and has been a leading advocate of introducing tax breaks for comedy.
His approach to commissioning has always had a populist element. In 2024, at the now-mandatory BBC Comedy Festival, he told an audience of comedy producers and members of the press that they should find their "humorous side" when pitching their projects to the BBC, which he believed was more important than tragicomedies or "shows that are 'explorations' of something.".
At the Liverpool Comedy Festival last month, he joked that British comedy was "the Prince Harry of television royalty", "having to fight harder than it should for attention, status and sometimes survival".
Naturally, all eyes will be on who will replace Petrie as head of programming. Among the candidates from the production sector are many prominent figures, while Channel 4 and Sky Comedy are led by the highly acclaimed Charlie Perkins and Alex Moody, respectively, and Netflix just hired its first head of UK comedy, Liz Levin.
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