{"id":382244,"date":"2026-01-21T13:17:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T13:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/382244\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T13:17:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T13:17:10","slug":"bbc-head-of-documentaries-clare-sillery-leaves-after-24-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/382244\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC head of documentaries Clare Sillery leaves after 24 years"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"intextlink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.broadcastnow.co.uk\/bbc\/1031.subject\" rel=\"intextlink_0 nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">BBC<\/a> head of documentaries Clare Sillery is to leave the BBC, Broadcast can reveal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"picture\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Clare Sillery NEW Main Headshot\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1469669_claresillerynewmainheadshot_533187.jpg\"  loading=\"eager\" class=\"lazyloaded\" width=\"5765\" height=\"3844\"\/><\/p>\n<p>An internal note was sent this morning\u00a0to unscripted staff\u00a0by interim unscripted director Fiona Campbell. It explained that Sillery has\u00a0decided\u00a0to step down from her role with immediate effect, having worked at the\u00a0organisation\u00a0for 24 years.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, she will continue to work on two current projects \u2013 Once Upon a Time in the Middle East and Once Upon a Time in America.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lead commissioning editor of docs Emma Loach has been acting up in Sillery\u2019s role since the start of the year\u00a0and will continue to do while Sillery\u2019s\u00a0replacement is recruited.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClare has been part of the\u00a0organisation\u00a0since 2002 and has made an enormous contribution throughout that time,\u201d said Campbell.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost recently, as head of documentaries \u2013 and before that as a commissioning editor in the team \u2013 she has shaped some of the BBC\u2019s most distinctive and best-loved premium factual output.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Campbell said Sillery\u2019s commissions have \u201cdefined our distinctive documentary offer\u201d,\u00a0including Uprising, Once Upon a Time\u00a0In\u00a0Iraq and Northern Ireland, Murder 24\/7, Ambulance, Parole, Sort Your Life Out, Glow Up, Forensics, The Real Marigold Hotel and Freddie Flintoff\u2019s Field of Dreams.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"picture\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ONce upon a time in NI\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1469671_onceuponatimeinni_789798.jpg\"  loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazyloaded\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2009\"\/><\/p>\n<p>She is also behind single films including Hillsborough, The Last Survivors, Hell\u00a0Jumper\u00a0and Louis Theroux: Settlers, as well as factual drama Damilola, Our Loved Boy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Before becoming a commissioner, Sillery was an executive producer on titles including Life and Death Row and Secret Life of the National Grid.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClare brings editorial skill, unwavering commitment to quality and a clarity of strategy that\u2019s helped keep our linear offer strong while growing\u00a0iPlayer\u2026 I know many of you will want to join me in thanking Clare for everything\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0brought to the BBC, and in wishing her every success and happiness for the future,\u201d said Campbell.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BBC head of documentaries Clare Sillery is to leave the BBC, Broadcast can reveal.\u00a0\u00a0 An internal note was&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":382245,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-382244","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-tv","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}