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Former Talkback and Thames chief Leon Wilson has been named CEO of Banijay UK labels Shine TV and Zeppotron.
This comes after the news current Shine Managing Director Jon Swain is stepping down at the end of the year. Wilson will report to Banijay UK CEO Patrick Holland the he takes up the CEO role at the end of the month.
Shine is known for the BBC’s MasterChef brands, Hunted and Celebrity Hunted and new Channel 4 prison format Banged Up, while Zeppotron makes the long running shows 8 Out of 10 Cats, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and Would I Lie to You?.
There are no plans to directly replace Swain at Shine, but Wilson will work with Creative Director Tim Whitwell, MasterChef boss David Ambler and the wider team. At Zeppotron, MDs Ruth Phillips and Peter Holmes will work with Wilson on a push into the streamer market.
Wilson is known for running Fremantle label Talkback and the merged Talkback-Thames business between 2013 and 2019. There his credits included Too Hot to Handle for Netflix, Harry’s Heroes: The Full English for ITV1 and Your Face or Mine for Comedy Central.
More recently, he founded the All3Media-backed Great Scott Media, which has grown to turn over £14M a year and landed commissions such as Love Trap for Channel 4 and 10-part Netflix reality series Dated & Related. Further back in his career, he worked on The Graham Norton Show, Dame Edna, Fantasy Football and The Friday Night Project.
Banijay UK boss Holland said: “As well as being a brilliant creative, Leon has phenomenal amounts of energy, enthusiasm, and insight. I’m so delighted that he’s chosen Banijay for the next chapter of his impressive career and I know that the teams in Shine and Zeppotron will benefit greatly from his expertise.”
Wilson added: “I can’t wait to start in this new role and work with the fantastically talented teams at Shine and Zeppotron. I love prisons, being hunted, eating, lying and four-fifths of cats… as well as winning new commissions. It’s literally a dream come true.”
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