Alison Hindell, currently the Head of Audio Drama for the BBC, has been appointed Radio 4’s new Commissioning Editor for Drama and Fiction.
Hindell has been head of Audio Drama at the BBC since 2005. She has directed more than 270 radio dramas and is responsible for one of the biggest radio drama production departments in the world, overseeing the creation of over 400 hours of drama across BBC radio networks. These range from the iconic Archers to award-winning new writing and classic literature.
She will take up her new position from October.
Her own productions include the 2003 commemorative production of Under Milk Wood and she has won many awards, including the Sony Gold, the Writers’ Guild Award, the Richard Imison Award and a Gold Medal at the New York Radio Festival. She began her production career in BBC Wales, where she has made the majority of her productions, and where she is based in her current role.
Hindell joined the BBC from the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1988. In addition to her work for the BBC, in 1995 she became the first British director to direct in Russian in the former Soviet Union.
Alison Hindell says: “I am delighted to be taking up this new role and bringing my experience and passion for radio drama to the commissioning team of Radio 4. It is an amazing network that uniquely values drama and storytelling at its heart, alongside its renowned news and factual programming.”
Gwyneth Williams, Controller of Radio 4, says: “Alison is a distinguished presence in radio drama and it is a pleasure to welcome her to my commissioning team. Millions are drawn to our wonderful dramas broadcast every day on Radio 4 and her appointment will continue this unique public service, bringing a new blend of experience and creativity.”
Hindell succeeds Jeremy Howe, who will take up the post of Editor of the Archers at the end of August.
Radio 4, with a weekly UK audience of 11 million, is a world leader in audio drama, with broadcasts including single dramas, serials and long running series. Drama on Radio 4 includes The Archers and singles by first-time writers, and ranges from a major dramatisation of Midnight’s Children, broadcast over one day in 2017, to long-running projects like Tommies and Home Front which have followed the course of the First World War. In addition, new digital and podcast dramas like Tracks and Quake are attracting a growing online audience.
The station also broadcasts daily readings from current and classic fiction, and commissions original short stories every week from new and established writers. Radio 4’s digital sister station, 4 Extra, attracts over two million listeners a week to a schedule which curates the best drama and readings from the Radio 4 archive and original short story commissions.