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Kate Oates Heads BBC Studios Drama Productions

BBC Studios has announced Kate Oates as their new Head of BBC Studios Drama Productions, with Priscilla Parish leaving the role. By: Dylan Low

Currently the head of continuing drama in BBC Studios, Oates will direct the drama production hub, which is situated in England, Scotland and Wales.

Reporting to the President of Scripted Productions Mark Linsey, Oates will proceed with her existing responsibilities for her selection of programmes such as EastEnders, Casualty, Father Brown, Sister Boniface, River City, Pobol Y Cwm and Anfamol.

Oates and her project team will start their new role with immediate effect, which sees them take control of crime drama Silent Witness when it transitions to West Midlands, a variety of new drama developments for the BBC and local and worldwide channels and platforms, the BBC Studios casting department. They will also create a UK training plan for scripted TV production in BBC Studios.

Oates replaces Parish who joined BBC Studios in 2019 after previous roles in World Productions, Left Bank Pictures and Fremantle.

Oates’ team consists of Deborah Sathe as Creative Director and Siân O’Callaghan as Director of Production. Other than overseeing production, Sathe will be looking after the new development slate. She will guide the training initiative, broadening its distribution across all scripted production in BBC Studios and collaborating with its independent production labels. O’Callaghan supervises all production, steering the strategic and business planning of BBC Drama Productions.

Oates previously joined BBC Studios as a Senior Executive Producer, and in 2019 joined the role of Head of Continuing Drama. She created ITV’s Coronation Street between 2016 and 2018 and Emmerdale from 2013 to 2016, making her the only person to command all three of UK’s leading soaps.

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