Latest in Piers Wenger

The BBC has unveiled a slate of eight drama series, including the latest projects from the writing teams behind The Salisbury Poisonings and Humans, and a Maxine Peake series about sexual politics in the modern workplace. The projects were announced on Tuesday by BBC drama director Piers Wenger and are designed to…

The BBC’s drama chief Piers Wenger has defended Doctor Who following a drop in ratings and a mixed reception from fans for Season 12 of the sci-fi drama. At a BBC drama even in London on Monday, Wenger was asked if he would consider resting Doctor Who given some of the malaise around the show, which is produced by BBC…

The BBC’s drama chief Piers Wenger has bristled at the idea of the British broadcaster becoming a subscription service amid growing talk of the government abandoning the licence fee. During an event in London on Monday, Wenger made a passionate case for the BBC’s place in a TV ecology that is becoming increasingly…

James Nesbitt has been cast as the lead in new BBC One detective drama Bloodlands, which represents the first commission for Bodyguard creator Jed Mercurio’s production company. Dubbed an “Irish noir,” Nesbitt will play Northern Irish police detective Tom Brannick who connects a suicide note with an infamous cold case…

The BBC has ordered four new dramas for BBC One, including surveillance thriller The Capture with David Heyman’s Heyday Television and NBC Universal International Studios, and Marnie Dickens series Gold Digger. London-set spy thriller The Capture, the brainchild of writer-director Ben Chanan (Cyberbully), will begin…

Ten months into his new job, Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, unveiled his vision for the department on Thursday night in London, with an ambitious slate to boot including a three-part series of Little Women with Playground and PBS’ Masterpiece, a Stephen Frears-directed drama A Very English Scandal and an…

Just as word emerged that Channel 4 Head of Drama Piers Wenger is defecting to the BBC to become its new drama chief, Channel 4 announced that Beth Willis will replace him at the broadcaster. Willis has been Deputy Head of Drama at C4 since 2012, working in concert with Wenger. As she is due for maternity leave this…

Piers Wenger has been appointed Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, aka the biggest job in UK drama, in a move that will see him leave his position as Head of Drama at Channel 4. The hire comes amid a series of revolving doors at the British broadcasters. Wenger is replacing former BBC drama chief Polly Hill who…