Specialist factual executive producer Tom Watt-Smith is taking on a natural history brief for the first time as a commissioning editor for the BBC.
Watt-Smith joins the corporation as lea commissioning editor for natural history, a role that also includes broader specialist factual.
The position is equivalent to that of former head of natural history Sreya Biswas, who became BBC Natural History Unit director of programmes in January.
Watt-Smith has spent two years as Nutopia’s creative director of formats and special projects and is executive producer on upcoming National Geographic/Disney+ series Limitless: Live Better Now.
He was previously creative director of premium and specialist factual at Lion TV, where he developed and executive produced BBC series Stolen: Catching the Art Thieves and Caribbean.
Watt-Smith also executive produced Raw TV’s BBC single Drowning in Plastic, which BBC specialist factual head of commissioning Jack Bootle described as “one of the most important environmental films the BBC has ever made”.
Bootle added: “Like me, he hasn’t grown up making natural history, but I know he’ll launch himself at the genre with complete commitment, bringing the same level of creative flair and ambition that he’s brought to all his projects thus far – and I’m excited to see how, working with me, he shapes the genre’s future.”
Meanwhile, Nutopia has promoted Tom Williams, showrunner on Pole to Pole with Will Smith, to executive producer, with a brief to develop and exec further 'high-impact entertainment-first' formats.
