Elaine Bedell

She left the BBC in 1992 and became Head of Factual Entertainment at Tiger Aspect Productions. In 1994 she became Managing Director of Watchmaker Productions, a company she set up with Clive James and Richard Drewett. Watchmaker was responsible for Jeremy Clarkson's interview programme Clarkson (1998–2001) which was shown on BBC Two, and produced by Bedell.[2] The company was bought by the Chrysalis Group in 1998, and she became Managing Director of Chrysalis Entertainment from 2000.

Bedell then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2002, establishing a commercial division, Royal Shakespeare Company Enterprise Ltd.

Bedell returned to the BBC as Independent Executive,[3] where she oversaw the relationship between BBC Television and various independent production companies. She became Commissioning Editor for Features and Factual Entertainment in July 2005.[4] She commissioned The One Show in 2006, and in Factual Entertainment she worked with Emma Swain, Adam Kemp, Richard Klein and Peter Horrocks. In November 2006 she became the Controller of BBC Entertainment, Multi-Platform Commissioning,[5] working with Jana Bennett, the Director of BBC Vision.

She joined ITV as Director of Entertainment and Comedy in March 2009.[6]

From 2011 to 2014, Bedell was Executive Chair of the committee that manages the annual Edinburgh International Television Festival.[7]

In 2017, Bedell was appointed CEO of the Southbank Centre.[8] Her salary and bonus amounted to £194k in 2017/18, increasing to £241k in 2018/2019.[9] In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted live performances, the organisation furloughed most of its 600 employees, and in July 2020 proposed to make up to 400 redundant.[10] The PCS union protested against proposals to reduce previously agreed redundancy payments.[11]