Biographies

Head of Knowledge Commissioning

Emma Swain was appointed Head of Knowledge Commissioning in February 2009.

In this role, Emma leads the Knowledge commissioning team, covering Arts, Music and Events, Science, Natural History, Religion and Ethics, Documentaries, History, Business, Features and Formats.

As well as driving high standards of creativity and innovation across TV Knowledge Commissioning, Emma is responsible for overseeing the health of the in-house and independent sectors, developing supply strategies for both; overseeing the operation of the WOCC; and managing the Discovery Joint Venture.

She reports to George Entwistle, Controller of Knowledge Commissioning.

From October 2007, Emma Swain was the Head of In-House Knowledge Commissioning, which involved leading the in-house commissioning team. During this time she also commissioned Documentaries and Natural History.

Prior to that Emma was Acting Controller of Daytime and Early Peak and before that she was Head of Multimedia Knowledge Commissioning, and Deputy Controller, Knowledge.

She also spent a brief period in 2007 as Acting Controller, BBC Three.

Her TV career includes years spent as a freelance director before moving to the BBC Science department – initially on a two-week development contract in 1996.

Shortly after joining the BBC she was appointed Deputy Commissioner and then Commissioner for Specialist Factual (in 2002) commissioning Science, History, Business, Religion and Natural History for BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Four from in-house and independent suppliers.

Emma has been responsible for commissioning a range of programming including Last Man Standing; Bizarre ER; Kill It Cook It Eat It; Big Cat Live; Jimmy's Farming Heroes; Lost Land Of The Jaguar; Comic Relief Does Kilimanjaro; and most recently Life, the sequel to Planet Earth, and Wounded on BBC One.