BAFTA has named UKTV commissioning chief Hilary Rosen as its next chair, giving the British academy a leader from the television side of the industry. Rosen succeeds Sara Putt, who leaves after serving a three-year term. Rosen has held the deputy chair post for the past year. The academy did not say when she takes over in the coverage reviewed. She will lead BAFTA’s work promoting talent in television, film and games through awards, industry leadership and development programs.
Rosen’s route to the post runs through the academy’s television arm. She has sat on the TV Committee since 2021, later chaired it, and helped shape the TV and Craft Awards and their juries. Away from BAFTA, she directs commissioning at UKTV, where she oversees scripted and unscripted originals. Her commissions include “Taskmaster” and “Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable.” More recent UKTV slate items include Mark Gatiss’s “Bookish” and the Mitford sisters drama “Outrageous.”
Putt arrived with a different background. She founded a talent agency for below-the-line crew and joined BAFTA’s board of trustees in 2011. She became deputy chair in 2021 and succeeded Krishnendu Majumdar as chair. Her tenure ends with the usual handover to her deputy.
Rosen said she is “delighted” to start with newly appointed committee chairs. She called the appointment “a great privilege.” The leadership shuffle reaches well beyond her own role. Ade Rawcliffe and Andrew Miller MBE will serve as deputy chairs for two-year terms. Caroline Levy, a scripted producer, takes over the Television Committee, and Nahrein Kemp leads the Learning, Inclusion and Talent Committee. A new Games Committee chair has also been elected. Shrina Shah, who chairs the Governance and Appointments Committee, joins the board of trustees.
The appointments follow an election process among members. Supporters will see continuity: Rosen already knows the board and the awards machinery. Industry observers may also ask how a streaming-era television executive balances an academy whose public identity rests on its film ceremony. Rosen has not publicly set out priorities beyond her statement, and BAFTA has issued no further detail on policy plans.
