Rob Unsworth is BBC’s new Head of Daytime and Early Peak Commissioning

Rob Unsworth, the Editor of BBC’s “The One Show,” has been confirmed as the new Head of BBC Daytime and Early Peak Commissioning, and will start his new role in the coming months. He will report to Kate Phillips, BBC’s Director of Unscripted Content, who is responsible for the overall commissioning strategy for the full range of Unscripted content across Entertainment, Factual, Arts & Classical Music and Daytime, Early-Peak & Events.

Daytime and Early Peak produces a high volume of shows across BBC One and BBC Two, creating high impact programmes with an emphasis on accessible and inclusive content across consumer, live, factual, factual entertainment, quiz, entertainment, and drama. BBC Daytime is home to breakout hits such as “The Repair Shop,” “Great British Menu,” “Strictly It Takes Two,” “Antiques Road Trip,” “The One Show,” “Morning Live,” “Pointless,” and “Richard Osman’s House of Games.”

Unsworth has been with the BBC since 1997, working on a plethora of programmes, including “Watchdog,” “Blue Peter,” and “Rogue Traders,” as well as working as a Senior Advisor in the Editorial Policy team. After a number of years running the BBC Studios Factual team in Salford, he became Head of “The One Show” in March 2020, two weeks before lockdown, facing the immediate challenge of keeping the popular show on air during a pandemic. In addition to doing so, over the same period, he launched “Morning Live,” which was an instant hit for BBC One.

“After a highly competitive interview process, I’m delighted that Rob will be the new Head of Daytime and Early Peak, leading a team of very talented commissioners. Rob is an award-winning producer and creative leader with an excellent track record in creating a broad range of popular programming with an emphasis on daytime, consumer and factual. I look forward to him joining our other excellent Genre Heads in BBC Unscripted as we work together,”  Kate Phillips said.

“I’m thrilled to be taking on such an exciting role right at the heart of the schedule. Daytime and Early Peak has an incredible mix of shows that have a real impact on people’s lives. I can’t wait to work with the rest of the brilliant commissioning team to build on its strongest brands, and also find the big new ideas that will lead us into its next chapter,”  Unsworth declared.