Danny Cohen appointed Controller, BBC One

Jana Bennett, Director BBC Vision, today confirmed Danny Cohen as the new Controller of BBC One, the nation’s most watched channel.

Jana Bennett said: "Danny Cohen is one of the most talented TV executives of his generation. His work both here at the BBC and at Channel 4, with programmes such as Skins, The Inbetweeners, Being Human, Women, Weddings, War And Me and Young Voters’ Question Time attest to his skills as an innovator and a great creative thinker.

“He has a deep understanding of public service broadcasting and a finely developed sense of what audiences of all ages are looking for, things which are hugely important as Controller of the UK’s most popular channel.”

On taking up his position at the helm of Britain’s flagship TV channel, Cohen said: "It’s a huge privilege to take charge of Britain’s most-watched channel, and I feel honoured to have this opportunity.

“BBC One is one of the nation’s great cultural institutions and I’m looking forward to working with a wonderful range of talented people in the coming years. Jay Hunt’s success in the job means that the channel is currently in very good shape indeed and I hope to build on these very strong foundations. I’m excited by the challenge.”

Currently Controller of BBC Three, Danny took over at the channel in May 2007, re-launching it within his first year to give BBC Three a clearer focus on young audiences and a commitment to serious factual programmes.

Under his creative leadership, BBC Three has been named Digital Channel of the Year at the Edinburgh TV Festival in two out of the last three years (2008 and 2010). The channel has developed a multiplatform approach to its key programming and its share 16-34-year-olds has grown by 58%.

BBC Three is now the most-watched digital channel by young viewers in the hours it broadcasts and the biggest digital channel overall in its hours.

Prior to joining the BBC, Danny was Head of E4 and Head of Channel 4 Factual Entertainment. During his time at Channel 4, Danny commissioned youth drama Skins, the National Comedy Award and Rose d’Or-winning The Inbetweeners, the Bafta-winning Fonejacker, Royal Television Society award-winner Supernanny and the documentary strand Cutting Edge.

Before becoming Head of E4, he worked in Documentary Commissioning at Channel 4 for five years – as Commissioning Editor and then as Head of Documentaries where he oversaw the team of editors responsible for landmark contemporary documentary, documentary formats and docu-drama.

Between 2000 and 2001, Danny was Factual Commissioning Editor for the launch of E4. His career began at Diverse, where he became Head of Development after a period in production.

In addition to his work as Controller of BBC Three, Danny has worked on a variety of projects across BBC Vision including Project Jewel, which gave focus to Vision’s organisational structure, as well as the most recent Strategy Review – Putting Quality First.

In his new role as Controller BBC One, Cohen will join the Vision Board and will report to Jana Bennett, Director BBC Vision. Taking up his new role with immediate effect, he will continue to oversee BBC Three until a successor is appointed.