Apple TV+ hires BBC’s Alison Kirkham to lead unscripted original series and films

Along the same vein as signing new overall deals, which Apple has been all over recently, the company has just made a big move on the new hire front.

According to Variety, Apple has hired on Alison Kirkham, formerly of the British Broadcasting Corporation as the network’s factual controller. Kirkham will remain in London, and she’ll be joining Apple as an executive starting this summer. She will be reporting to Apple’s Jay Hunt, and will be leading the charge on unscripted original series and films.

Kirkham is the latest big hire for the United Kingdom Apple TV+ team. It’s been awhile since the last one, though, with Joe Oppenheimer joining the Apple TV+ team back in 2018.

The appointment comes as the platform, in common with other streamers, looks to expand its non-scripted output. Apple’s non-scripted commissions include “Prehistoric Planet” and “Long Way Up” with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman.

Up until now, Kirkham has been part of the BBC team since 2005. She’s helped bring content like Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II to televisions, among other series.

This is another piece of big news for Apple TV+ today. Earlier, we reported that Alena Smith, showrunner and creator of the Apple TV+ series Dickinson has signed a new, overall deal with Apple to create exclusive content for the company’s streaming service.