As its Chief Creative Officer and Global Director of Acquisitions, BBC Studios and UKTV, he is also responsible, alongside his commissioning remit, for acquiring shows for the broadcaster and BBC Studios’ global channels. Current hits commissioned by Watsham’s team include The Marlow Murder Club for U&Drama and Will & Ralf Should Know Better for U&Dave.

What do you do?

I look after commissioning and acquisitions at UKTV, and acquisitions for BBC Studios’ global channels. At UKTV, we are building a large programme library on our newly rebranded VoD player, U.

My job also includes supporting the freelance TV community, and improving sustainability and diversity. I’ve just become Chair of the Creative Diversity Network – as broadcasters, we must use our influence to improve diversity, in front of and behind the camera.

How do you know what your viewers will watch?
It’s a combination of data, experience and a lot of listening. I’m an aggregator of other people’s tastes – I may love or hate a programme, but I am only one viewer in a potential audience of millions, so I make sure to listen to my colleagues’ opinions across the commissioning and acquisitions team.

How did you get into TV?

Here’s a secret – I didn’t want to work in TV! I studied drama and did some low-level acting after university. I really wanted to get into film. I wrote to every film production company in the UK and got three responses. None of them would take me on, even for no pay. I’d given up on acting, moved up to London and run out of money after just a few weeks.

A flatmate who was working as an edit assistant suggested I call some post-production houses. I eventually got a job as a runner with Crow TV. I worked my way up the TV ladder to become a series producer and director on shows such as Dating in the Dark and Fat Families.

How did you end up commissioning?

I had four children. I’d been a freelancer for 10 years and desperately needed stable work. Mark Sammon, who was a commissioning editor at Living at the time, became something of a mentor and gave me a chance. I stayed at Virgin for a year, then moved to UKTV channel Dave as the channel was just starting to commission.

What were your first commissions at Virgin?

For Bravo, two new series of the franchise Brit Cops, as well as a live fight night with Alex Reid, who was Katie Price’s boyfriend at the time.

Do you need experience of making programmes before you can commission them?

In terms of understanding what people want to watch, coming from a production, scheduling or data and insight background are all equally valid. My background as a series producer/director, mostly of new formats, has helped me understand how to make content better – and the potential pitfalls.

Do you face a lot of competition to acquire shows?

It’s a very competitive market and we often have to fight hard. There are a number of ways to do that; unfortunately, the most telling is the depth of your pockets – and our pockets are not as deep as others. We have to box clever. Building good relationships with studios and producers is critical.

Is it frustrating when a rival broadcaster poaches one of your shows?

With commissions, that doesn’t happen very often. Taskmaster was taken by Channel 4 after we’d commissioned 74 shows for Dave, but we are hugely proud of the fact that we developed the show. It was one of the first I commissioned at UKTV.

With acquisitions, shows often come in and out of licence, so I wouldn’t say they are poached. There’s a lot of content out there – sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t. It’s important you stick to your strategy and don’t get pulled out of shape.

Is there a risk of playing it too safe?

There’s a real danger in television of regurgitating things you’ve done before because – when you’re trying to work out what to do next – you tend to look at what’s worked before. When I started at UKTV, I didn’t know how long I’d be there, so I was determined to do things differently and take brave decisions. Of course, as a smaller player, it’s essential that we take risks because we need to get noticed. We won’t get noticed by making slightly cheaper versions of other broadcasters’ shows; we’ll get noticed by doing stuff that no one else is doing.

Do you have trusted suppliers and partners?

Absolutely. For acquisitions, we work closely with the US studios and key distributors such as All3Media, Fremantle and Banijay. It’s the same for commissions – you need to be able to trust the people who are making a show for you. Ideas, though, can come from anywhere, and we can marry  people with ideas to production companies. My commissioning team are out there talking to many people, not just sticking to the echo chamber of a few trusted suppliers.

What do you bring to work with you?

Bravery, ambition and determination – if you let them drop, you pay for it.

What are the best and worst parts of the job?

The best is working with the people at UKTV – we have a really special culture here. The worst is marrying ambition to budget, but that’s the same for lots of people in TV, whether they’re an exec on a production or a commissioner. We do so much with less money than our competitors.

Which skills and attributes do you need to do your job?

Sharp editorial judgement is key to making the right decisions about content, as well as trusting your instincts. You also need to be a good listener and have people skills, whether you are dealing with problems on a production, making a deal or talking to a well- known host.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to work in commissioning and acquisitions?

It’s a tough time to break into the industry. Unfortunately, there are too many freelancers for the amount of work we currently have. Now, more than ever, passion and determination are key. Having said that, there are a variety of routes you can take.

I would encourage people to explore all the different roles within a broadcaster and production company and work out what really interests you.

Which shows are you most proud of acquiring and commissioning at UKTV?

It’s always a team game, and these are not just mine. As a commissioning editor, Taskmaster. In terms of acquisitions, the US political drama Madam Secretary has done really well, and our deals with AMC Networks and Banijay for Acorn TV content have brought our viewers great shows such as The Chelsea Detective, Signora Volpe and Darby and Joan.

We’re also keen to bring on talent at UKTV, and it was fantastic to develop a  vehicle in which the incredibly charismatic Zuhair Hassan could really shine, the Bafta award-winning Big Zuu’s Big Eats for U&Dave.

What would you like to do more of?

Drama. We have our biggest original drama slate ever coming up this year, including Bookish, created by and starring Mark Gatiss.

Until now, we have predominantly done crime dramas, but we are branching out into family, historical and period drama with Outrageous, a co-production with BritBox International, about the Mitford sisters.

Richard Watsham was interviewed by Matthew Bell.