Elaine Bedell
Director of Entertainment & Comedy
ITV
Elaine Bedell joined ITV as Director of Entertainment and Comedy in March 2009 and heads ITV’s commissioning team across those genres, overseeing a range of hit shows from The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Dancing on Ice and I’m A Celebrity, to Benidorm, Piers Morgan’s Life Stories and The Brits.
She joined ITV from BBC, where she was Controller, Entertainment Commissioning across all BBC channels and multiplatform. She led a team responsible for programmes ranging from Strictly Come Dancing, and Have I Got News For You? through to Top Gear, The Apprentice and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. Previously, she was the BBC's Commissioning Editor for Features and Factual Entertainment, where she commissioned The One Show.
Elaine began her career at the BBC as a trainee and produced a wide range of programmes for BBC Radio and television – including Radio 4’s Start The Week, and BBC One’s Clive James’ New Year’s Eve shows. She left the BBC to become Head of Factual Entertainment at Tiger Aspect and then set up her own production company, Watchmaker, with Clive James and Richard Drewett, where she oversaw a range of entertainment and factual entertainment programmes including Clarkson, The Unforgettables, and An Evening with …
When Watchmaker was bought by the Chrysalis Group, Elaine became Managing Director of Chrysalis Entertainment and oversaw its comedy and sitcom output (including Sam's Game and Black Books). She went on to set up the commercial arm of the Royal Shakespeare Company before returning to the BBC. She has won a BAFTA and a British Comedy Award and was Advisory Chair of the 2009 Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival.
Elaine began her career at the BBC as a trainee and produced a wide range of programmes for BBC Radio and television – including Radio 4’s Start The Week, and BBC One’s Clive James’ New Year’s Eve shows. She left the BBC to become Head of Factual Entertainment at Tiger Aspect and then set up her own production company, Watchmaker, with Clive James and Richard Drewett, where she oversaw a range of entertainment and factual entertainment programmes including Clarkson, The Unforgettables, and An Evening with …
When Watchmaker was bought by the Chrysalis Group, Elaine became Managing Director of Chrysalis Entertainment and oversaw its comedy and sitcom output (including Sam's Game and Black Books). She went on to set up the commercial arm of the Royal Shakespeare Company before returning to the BBC. She has won a BAFTA and a British Comedy Award and was Advisory Chair of the 2009 Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival.
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