Hilary Rosen Named Next Chair of BAFTA as Sara Putt's Term Ends
Hilary Rosen will become the next chair of BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, when Sara Putt's three-year term comes to an end.
Rosen is currently Director of Commissioning at UKTV, the British broadcaster owned by BBC Studios. Commissioning means deciding which programmes get made and paid for. In that role she leads UKTV's original slate of scripted shows, which are written from a script, and unscripted shows, which are factual and reality-style programmes. Those include Bookish and Outrageous, according to Deadline.
She has spent the past year as BAFTA's Deputy Chair, the senior volunteer who stands in for the chair. She also has form at the academy. In 2023 she was elected chair of its Television Committee, one of the groups that run the awards in different areas of the industry. Rosen begins her own three-year term as chair, according to BAFTA.
Putt is a former talent agent and producer, a background she brought to the role when she was appointed in 2023. BAFTA confirmed that 2026 is her final year in the job.
The rest of the leadership is changing too. Ade Rawcliffe and Andrew Miller will succeed Rosen as Deputy Chair. Charu Desdot will chair the Games Committee, and Caroline Levy will chair the Television Committee. Nahrein Kemp takes over as chair of the LIT Committee.
Shrina Shah, who chairs the Governance and Appointments committee, will join BAFTA's Board of Trustees. Trustees are the people legally responsible for how a charity is run, so the seat puts her at the top table of the academy's decision-making.
The announcements cover film, television and games in one set of appointments. That mix reflects how much the three now overlap. A commissioner such as Rosen works on the same screens that BAFTA's film and television awards celebrate, and games sit alongside them within the academy.
For anyone who watches BAFTA's ceremonies or follows British television, the most visible change will be the name at the top. Rosen takes over from Putt when Putt's term ends. Until then, Putt remains chair.
