Ben Stephenson

Ben Stephenson is an English television executive, who has been controller of drama commissioning at the BBC since September 2008.^[2]

Early life

Stephenson attended The Hewett School in Norwich before studying at Manchester University where he gained a first class degree in drama.^[3]

Television

In 1999 Stephenson worked at Granada as a script editor on the television series Heartbeat. He went on to edit scripts for London's Burning and Blood Strangers.^[2][3] Stephenson then worked at Channel 4 for over two years, on shows such as No Angels, later moving to Shed Productions, and Tiger Aspect.^[2] While at Shed he served as producer on the military drama Bombshell, commissioned by ITV but never shown in the UK.^[4] It was screened in New Zealand in 2006.^[5]

Stephenson joined the BBC in 2004 working as Head of Development for Independent Drama, later becoming Head of Development for Fiction. Stephenson then took the roles of Head of Drama Commissioning at the BBC.^[2]

His hit-rate during 2011 included a boost of £10m a year extra for BBC2 drama over the next 3 years, described by Stephenson as "a breath of fresh air". Several of 2011's dramas including The Crimson Petal and the White and single film United have performed well, though 8-part science fiction drama Outcasts, despite heavy promotion, drew disappointing ratings. Five out of the eight BAFTA drama awards for 2011 went to the BBC, including two for Sherlock (including best drama series).^[6]

Controversies

In July 2009 Stephenson wrote a blog article in The Guardian newspaper in response to criticisms of the BBC's drama output in which he stated:

The comment caused controversy as it was considered to be a breach of the BBC's Royal Charter which obliges the organisation to be impartial in its output. Jeremy Hunt, shadow culture secretary at the time called for Stephenson to make "an immediate retraction and apology", stating "no journalist or editor should be following a political agenda, let alone someone as senior as a controller" with his concerns also echoed by Peter Whittle and Jonathan Isaby. Critics such as Stephen Glover also suggested that rather than being idio-syncratic, Stephenson "is part of the status quo, conforming to the Leftist beliefs that predominate in the BBC." Stephenson later denied that he had meant his comment to have a political meaning, likening it to the phrase "left-field".^{[8][9][10][11]}

Personal life

Stephenson lives in Central London with his partner, author Tom Rob Smith.^[6]

References