BBC Studios Germany has appointed Eva Holtmann head of fiction, Susen Schadwinkel executive producer and Kai Krabbenhöft head of development for entertainment.
These appointments are made as BBC Studios continues to scale its business in Germany, and follows the recent award-winning production of “1% Quiz” for Sat1.
Based in Cologne, Holtmann will join BBC Studios Germany in September. Her role will focus on exploiting BBC Studios scripted formats catalogue as well as developing original and local stories. She will build on a development slate which was helmed by executive producers Lea Gamula and Jessica Wirdemann, who will report directly into Holtmann, and together will build, execute and deliver BBC Studios Germany’s fiction strategy.
Prior to joining BBC Studios, Holtmann spent over seven years at Bantry Bay Productions as eecutive producer, where she was responsible for developing, selling and producing a wide range of productions that spanned from theatrical feature films, TV movies, series and sitcoms. She has over two decades’ experience in development, financing, production, co-production and acquisitions in TV and the film industry.
Commenting on her appointment, she said: “The BBC brand has always carried huge appeal to me and stands for high-quality productions. I am hugely excited to have the opportunity to further build the fiction business in Germany together with Lea and Jessi and the entire team in Cologne”.
Phil Schmid, MD, BBC Studios Germany, added: “I’m excited to welcome Eva to our growing team in Cologne. Her wealth of experience will be invaluable as we build a full service in-house fiction department. Bringing in more formidable talent is a reflection of our ambition in Germany and we are now really moving from our launch phase in the market to scaling our business, with great people at its heart”.
As well as stepping up scripted productions, BBC Studios Germany is also expanding its Entertainment category under the leadership of Markus Templin, with two further appointments.
Susen Schadwinkel, will join BBC Studios Germany this month, coming from Constantin Entertainment. Her track record also spans executive producer roles at Endemol Shine, Brainpool and RedSeven. For BBC Studios Germany she will be responsible for delivering the next seasons of “The 1% Club” and will also be driving large scale entertainment commissions together with Markus Templin.
Kai Krabbenhöf joined BBC Studios Germany in May with over two decades of experience in the industry in many senior development roles, as well as experience as a producer for UFA Show & Factual on Germany’s Got Talent. He is responsible for supercharging format adaptation and original development activities.
Markus Templin, head of entertainment, said: “I am very pleased that we were able to win Susen and Kai for our team and look forward to working with them on broadening out our development and production slate. It’s an exciting phase in our business”.
