Dragonfly Managing Director Richard Bond is to take up a newly created role of Creative Director, Factual Drama for Banijay UK, following eight years leading Dragonfly. Bond’s new role will be focused on building a slate of factual drama commissions, working with scripted labels across the group to develop and produce scripted projects based on real-life events. A new scripted series developed by Bond in partnership with drama label The Forge is already in funded development with a major broadcaster.
Richard Bond will take up his new role in June and report to Banijay UK CEO Patrick Holland, who stated: “Richard is a fantastic leader, and the team have won numerous awards under his direction and have been responsible for some of the biggest documentary brands on television. He has always had a passion for factual drama and is the perfect creative leader to galvanize ideas in this growing market. Ros, Will and Ali are a formidable senior team, and I have every confidence that they will continue to grow Dragonfly. Premium documentary remains a strategic priority to the business and Dragonfly is a leading brand in this area.”
Richard Bond said: “I’ve absolutely loved running Dragonfly and will dearly miss all the staff and freelancers who work so hard to make it such a brilliant company. But my passion is telling true stories in the most impactful, creative way possible. Audiences are increasingly hungry for factual drama, so having already had the pleasure of working with incredible writers like Jack Thorne, Genevieve Barr, and Ben Chanan in this genre, the prospect of collaborating with Banijay’s best-in-class scripted labels to bring more of these projects to fruition is a dream come true”.
Bond was responsible for "Then Barbara Met Alan" (BBC/Netflix), written by Jack Thorne and Genevive Barr, which told the story of disability rights activists Barbara Lisicki and Alan Holdsworth, and their campaign of direct action. Before joining Dragonfly, he was Executive Producer on several factually inspired dramas written by Ben Chanan for Channel 4, including "Blackout," "The People Next Door, "and the Maisie Williams-fronted "Cyberbully," which picked up a BAFTA nomination and won the Prix Italia: Best Drama.
The leadership of Dragonfly will be taken over by Ros Ponder, Will Rowson, and Alison Seymour. Ros and Will become Co-Creative Directors (promoted from Director of Programmes and Creative Director Dragonfly North, respectively), leading on creative delivery and direction, and Director of Production Alison Seymour will become Director of Production and Operations and will lead on commercial strategy. They will report to Banijay UK CEO Patrick Holland.
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