Bea Ballard

Education

Ballard was educated at St David's School, Middlesex and read English and American Literature at The University of East Anglia, where her tutors included Malcolm Bradbury, Lorna Sage, and Angus Wilson. Following this she took a one-year post-graduate Diploma in Journalism at London’s City University. She completed this with Distinction, and won a scholarship to The New Statesman, where she trained as a reporter and researcher.

Television Programmes

While Creative Head of BBC Entertainment Events, Bea Ballard put forward to the then Controller of BBC ONE, Peter Fincham, the idea of How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria. She successfully got the series commissioned, and off the ground. The programme was the first time that a West End musical had been cast via a television show, with the public voting on contestants drawn from open auditions held all over Britain. The programme has spawned other continuations of the format, such as Grease for ITV and NBC in America. The format is also being adapted internationally for a number of other musicals.

Following the How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, the BBC developed Any Dream Will Do, the search to cast the lead in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Ballard also recently worked with Stephen Fry on Weekend for BBC FOUR.The weekend included the documentary 50 Not Out, and the programme Guilty.

Talent

Ballard helped persuade Ronnie Barker to come out of retirement and reunite with Ronnie Corbett to make The Two Ronnie’s Sketchbook series.

Parkinson

Ballard re-launched the Parkinson show for BBC One Michael Parkinson.The show featured top international talent – from David and Victoria Beckhams’ first solo and joint interviews, to Paul McCartney’s first interview since the death of wife Linda, to George Michael and Hugh Grant’s first interviews since their lives were rocked by scandal.

Television

Ballard created and Executive Produced a number of specials for BBC ONE, from One Night With Robbie Williams at the Royal Albert Hall (winner of Silver Rose of Montreux for Best International Music Programme), to Elton John at the Royal Opera House, to the BAFTA Tributes series of celebrity specials -Victoria Wood, Billy Connolly, Ronnie Barker, Judi Dench. She also oversaw all of the BBC’s Eurovision programming.

Chairman of BAFTA Television Committee

Ballard was elected Chairman of the BAFTA Television Committee, and served from 2001 to 2003. Prior to this she was elected to BAFTA Council & served for six years. She was also Chairman of the BAFTA Events Committee for 2 years, producing a number of keynote speeches with channel controllers and she launched The Independent View – a series of interviews and profiles of the television industry’s key independents. During her tenure at BAFTA she expanded its television programming through the development of the BAFTA Tributes series. She also oversaw annually the television juries and chaired many herself, ranging from drama to comedy.

Ballard programmes for BBC ONE

BBC TWO: Saturday Night Clive

BBC FOUR Stephen Fry Night

Early television career

David Liddiment invited Bea to join BBC Entertainment as Head Of Talk and Specials. This led to re-launching Parkinson and devising a number of event specials – from the 2 hour gala celebrating BBC TV’s 60th Anniversary, TV 60 – Aunties All Time Greats, to BAFTA Awards, to Ruby Wax Meets Madonna, to documentaries series such as the Emmy winning Carrie Fisher on Hollywood (co-production with A&E).

She devised the weekly entertainment show Saturday Night Clive. Following its success on BBC TWO the show was transferred to BBC ONE.

Ballard also produced the majority of Clive James’ other output for the BBC. She devised and produced the award-winning, 8 part - documentary series Fame in the Twentieth a co-production with PBS, shown both in the UK and the US. Ballard also produced the documentary series for BBC ONE in which Clive James profiled various cities around the world - Clive James Postcards…. from Paris; New York; Miami; Paris.

Prior to joining the BBC Ballard worked at LWT in Entertainment where she produced a wide range of entertainment shows, from An Audience With (Peter Ustinov; Billy Connolly), to The Late Clive James, to Michael Aspel and Company, to BAFTA Awards.

Ballard started her television career at the BBC, on John Craven’s Newsround, where she worked as a journalist and assistant producer.