Little more than 50 days into her new job, the biggest news of Priya Dogra‘s Channel 4 era has arrived: Ian Katz, the UK network’s longest-serving chief content officer, is stepping down in a few months. With that, one of the biggest jobs in British television has opened up at a crucial, near existential moment for the nation’s irreverent, youth-skewing broadcaster.
Having had no prior TV commissioning experience, former Newsnight editor Katz was a shock pick when he joined in 2018. He leaves behind a complex legacy. Supporters point to his embrace of Channel 4’s “imp in the mechanism” spirit and his assuredness in the role in recent years, leading to shows like The Piano and drama Dirty Business. Detractors say Katz is well-liked but not always well-rated, with questions about his nose for sustainable hits and Channel 4’s over-reliance on shows that pre-dated his tenure, including Gogglebox and The Great British Bake Off.
“I think his record is not as appreciated as it should be,” is the verdict of Roughcut CEO Ash Atalla, who produces Channel 4 comedies Big Boys and Stath Lets Flats. “The channel feels strong on factual and has remained committed to half-hour comedy, while Ian’s big revamp of drama is starting to deliver. He’s backed disruptive shows and the troublemaking that is important to Channel 4, whether it’s the provocative Virgin Island or sticking it to Donald Trump.”
Katz is expected to take a break with “a book, a tree, and some grass underfoot” before a last big career swing, according to those who know him. Attention is already turning to his successor. In the face of declining ad revenues, fragmented viewing, streamer competition, a need to generate big hits, and a divisive plan to grow in-house production, it is not a job for the faint-hearted. And yet it remains a venerated creative role, with a salary that exceeds that of the BBC director general (Katz earned £720,000 in 2024), and a content budget of £643M ($870M).
Katz’s depature was expected and he had told staff last year that his future was uncertain. Dogra is yet to launch a formal recruitment process, but sources said informal feelers were put out even before the news of Katz’s departure hit inboxes on Thursday morning. Dogra has time to make a decision, with Katz not exiting Horseferry Road until October. In the meantime, our WhatsApps are alive with speculation about who former Warner Bros executive Dogra will anoint as Katz’s successor. Scroll on for some of the early runners and riders.
David Brindley
Several well-connected sources were quick to name David Brindley, CEO of Destination X producer Twofour, as a frontrunner from the indie sector. In a tricky unscripted market, his ITV Studios-backed outfit finds itself in rude health, producing both the UK and U.S. versions of Destination X, Apple TV’s The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy, and ITV’s upcoming The Box, hosted by Gary Lineker. All involve steering big-name talent. Brindley used to work for Channel 4 and was behind one of its most impactful shows of all time, Educating Yorkshire, which he recently revived at Twofour. He got down to the last four for the top BBC content job last year and is a respected figure on both sides of the producer-commissioner fence. Nevertheless, there is no question that running an entire network, with all that entails, would be a big step up for Brindley.
Ben Frow
Paramount UK’s chief content officer was characteristically withering about Katz during his appearance at the Edinburgh TV Festival last year. Asked about originality on Channel 4, Ben Frow replied sarcastically: “Anyone looking at the Channel 4 schedule would say it’s completely different to how it was seven years ago under Jay Hunt. He’s a genius. He’s completely reinvented television.”
Whether the trash talk was fair is up for debate, but it was revealing of Frow’s view that Channel 4 requires change. Which begs the question: Does Frow believe he is the right man to deliver that change? “He relishes being the outsider, but part of him would love a blue-chip job,” was the verdict of one colleague.
There is little doubt that he has the commissioning credentials, having massively reinvigorated 5 during his nearly 14-year tenure, to the point where it regularly beats Channel 4 in the overnights. Plus, there is always a dash of mischief in his output — the recent Huw Edwards drama being the example of a show that could quite happily sit on Channel 4. One Channel 4 insider questioned whether Frow has enough experience serving young audiences, while others suspect he might be too expensive for Channel 4. But with Paramount in Warner Bros-shaped flux, Frow might fancy a new challenge.
Stuart Murphy
Stuart Murphy’s name has come up consistently in recent days, but the former CEO of English National Opera would still be regarded as a leftfield hire. Murphy ran BBC Three and Sky for years, commissioning shows like Gavin and Stacey and A League of Their Own, but he has not held a permanent executive TV role for around a decade. “It would be a pivot to the past,” said a respected producer. Another major Channel 4 supplier added: “I think he’d love to do it. He’s having a strange career, but he’s a bright, offbeat spark.” A third source noted that he previously had a knack for commissioning hit shows that appeal to young audiences, which Channel 4 could do with right about now.
Alisa Pomeroy
Alisa Pomeroy, Channel 4’s head of docs and factual entertainment, is seen by many as the most likely internal candidate to replace Katz. A popular figure with producers, Pomeroy was one of the big winners of the 2024 commissioning restructure that saw her take on a brief covering a spread of Channel 4’s unscripted fare. She now looks after shows ranging from 20-year-old hit Gogglebox to hard-hitting docs like Shoot to Kill: Terror on the Tube or Michael Jackson: The Trial. Most recently, she oversaw Dirty Business, the David Thewlis-starring docudrama that kickstarted a nationwide conversation around the dangers of sewage and water companies’ greed.
“Let’s start a campaign to get her the job,” said one fan from the production sector, who has worked with Pomeroy on multiple shows. There appears to be a feeling from some within Horseferry Road that Pomeroy or news chief Louisa Compton may be Katz’s preferred successors. He has always been a huge fan of both and has promoted them during his tenure. Lack of scripted experience would count against Pomeroy at a time when Channel 4 is spending big on drama and comedy, but this applies to a number of candidates on this list. Were she to be successful, she would be the first internal candidate to get the gig in Channel 4’s plus-40-year history.
Louisa Compton
Channel 4’s head of news and current affairs is being touted as another credible internal contender for the top job. Louisa Compton has been at the forefront of Channel 4’s noisy factual output, shepherding the likes of Russell Brand: In Plain Sight and Gaza: Doctors Under Attack to the screen, as well as Will AI Take My Job?, provocatively hosted by an AI presenter.
Although well-regarded in the news community, she is an unknown quantity to many drama and factual producers. She did ause a brouhaha at the 2025 Edinburgh TV Festival, when she accused Netflix of being “TV tourists” after the success of Adolescence. at a time when CEO Dogra might be looking for an executive with more scripted or entertainment skills. Compton is also being heavily linked to the BBC News CEO role after previously editing Victoria Derbyshire and Radio 1’s Newsbeat.
Kiran Nataraja
Kiran Nataraja is, in some senses, a more left-field internal candidate than Pomeroy or Compton, but the well-liked executive has quietly become one of the most important people at Channel 4 during Katz’s tenure. A true lieutenant, the Director of Streaming Content Strategy has “helped steer every big commissioning decision for the past four or five years,” believes one production boss, who is gunning for her to get the top prize.
She has been promoted numerous times under Katz, adding editorial leadership of Channel 4 streaming a couple of years back at a time when the broadcaster is going for broke with its online video service (confusingly also named Channel 4). “She may have kept a lower public profile but she is brilliant,” said another industry champion. Were she to progress through the process, it is likely that her lack of time spent at the coalface of production, or dealing with top talent, would count against her, but from our chats these past couple of days, it feels as though Nataraja is in with a shot. Were she to land it, Channel 4’s two head honchos would be women of Asian descent.
Other Names In Our Inbox
Plenty of other names are circulating, as producers put forward their preferred candidates. Banijay UK CEO Patrick Holland is again being linked to a top broadcasting job after speculation about his candidacy for the BBC director-general and chief content officer roles. BBC Studios Global Content CEO Zai Bennett is also seen as a capable contender by many in the production community.
Tom McDonald, EVP of content at National Geographic; John Hay, CEO of The Garden; and Philip Edgar-Jones, the Sky commissioner behind Saturday Night Live UK, are other male names doing the rounds. Syeda Irtizaali, the new director of unscripted at Netflix, and Apple TV’s Alison Kirkham are also the subject of speculation.
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