Channel 4 Poaches ‘The Bachelor’ & ‘Blind Date’ Exec Sean Doyle From Rival Channel 5

British broadcaster Channel 4 has poached non-scripted commissioner Sean Doyle from Channel 5 as it looks to build a new slate of 8pm shows.

Doyle, who has been a commissioning executive at the Viacom-owned broadcaster since 2015, was described by Channel 4 Director of Programmes Ian Katz as the “brains behind many of Channel 5’s smartest commissions”.

Doyle was responsible for bringing back reality format The Bachelor to Channel 5, as broken by Deadline, as well as the revamp of classic dating format Blind Date, which was C5’s first major steps into the entertainment genre. He has also been responsible for originals such as social experiment Celebs in Solitary, produced by Sony-owned Stellify Media, and natural history series Wild Britain, produced by Plimsoll Productions.

He joins as Deputy Head of Features and Formats and will report to Head of Features and Formats Sarah Lazenby, who took on the new position earlier this summer. Prior to joining C5, he spent two years working for the BBC and held a number of production company positions, including as Head of Development for Wild Rover Productions, which made ABC gameshow Take The Money and Run.

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