Channel 4 has confirmed Ollie Madden, director of Film4, is expanding his role to encompass TV drama commissioning as part of the ongoing restructuring at the UK broadcaster.
As director of Film4 and C4 drama, he takes over from Caroline Hollick, the Leeds-based head of TV drama for Channel 4, who departed Channel 4 on March 21.
”Ollie is a creative powerhouse who has been at the heart of Film4’s extraordinary success and has a bold and ambitious vision for what Channel 4 drama can be,” said Ian Katz, Channel 4’s chief content officer, today.
Channel 4 has previously confirmed the film and TV drama departments would continue to operate as independent teams with separate budgets but under the same leadership. The broadcaster was tasked with shedding 240 roles as part of its strategy to become a “digital-first” broadcaster. Head of youth and digital Karl Warner and factual entertainment boss Alf Lawrie have also left.
Madden was promoted to his present role in May 2022, reporting to then Film4 chairman Daniel Battsek. When Battsek announced his intention to leave Channel 4 in March 2024 and move to the US, where he was previously based, Madden was promoted to the executive board and now reports directly to Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon.
Madden was appointed head of creative at Film4 in 2016 under Battsek. He had previously worked extensively throughout the UK film and TV sector, including at Miramax and Warner Bros, and as head of film at Shine Pictures, of which Mahon was the CEO.
Film4 invests £25m annually in the production and development of UK films, securing six Oscar wins for Film4-backed features at this year’s ceremony, between Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things and Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone Of Interest. Further Film4 supported titles include How To Have Sex, Bafta winner Earth Mama and All Of Us Strangers.
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