Alison Sharman

Alison Sharman is the director of factual, children's and daytime at ITV.

She was born on 16th March and was brought up in Manchester.

She was previously controller of CBBC, with overall responsibility for BBC children's programmes, including acquisitions, commissions and CBBC online. She had a long career at the BBC and had been head of BBC daytime programming from 2002 until taking up the new position on 20 June 2005. Her arrival at CBBC was generally seen as a breath of fresh air within the department, which was crying out for the sort of creative renewal Sharman had successfully engineered in daytime. Her management style was dynamic and provided a jolt to the system of CBBC, which had in recent years lost direction and focus.

Shortly after becoming controller of CBBC, Ms Sharman made clear her belief - given that the TV license fee is universal - in the need to reach out and connect with all sections of society. [http://bbc.net.uk/pressoffice/speeches/stories/sharman_showcomotion.shtml] "Above all," she said, "we must always keep a respectful focus upon two of the core needs of children: first, the need to understand and express something of their deep inner world. And secondly, the need to understand their place in - and relationship to - the outer world, from their immediate family to the wider society."

She believed that CBBC is the BBC in microcosm, and that it should offer the same range and quality to young audiences. Many in the BBC believe that any good she did was undone by the fact that she jumped ship to ITV and was using CBBC simply as a stepping stone.

Sharman’s legacy to the department was three-fold; first, she acted swiftly to promote efficiency within the department, releasing funds to increase the visible on-screen budget available for children's programmes; secondly, she forged a strategic & streamlined commissioning process and thirdly she woke the department up to the arrival of the on-demand digital age.

Sharman introduced a popular new children's sports news programme on Saturday mornings called "Sportsround", and commissioned bold new dramas for CBBC. She also brought back a beloved story based programme called "Jackanory".

When her announcement came that she was leaving to join ITV, some old handers in CBBC were relieved that the reign of the 'sharmanator' had come to an end. Others mourned the loss of an energetic and visionary leader of the department.

Sharman has now been swift to apply the same energetic pace to ITV as Director of Daytime Factual and Children's. Sharman has introduced Saturday morning adult shows to the weekend, ending a long legacy of Saturday morning children's programmes, heralding a new audience profile to the weekends.

In Spring 2006, Sharman negotiated a deal to poach Antony Worrall Thompson from the BBC where he had been presenting "Saturday Kitchen", and bring him to ITV to present "Saturday Cooks!" in practically the same timeslot. The deal also saw the production company responsible for the BBC show, Prospect Pictures, jump ship to produce the ITV version. It was Sharman who, while at the BBC, had originally brokered the deal that saw AWT take over from then-present frontman, Gregg Wallace.

December 2007 and Sharman is being touted as the next Controller of BBC1. She rules herself out. She has had much success at ITV. The performance of ITV daytime is transformed, neck and neck with the BBC in the ratings battle. Factual in peak time has also undergone a transformation. From Robbie Coltrane's "B Road Britain", to Jeff Randall's "Who Stole My Pension", from "Trinny and Susannah Undress the Nation" to Chris Terrill's "Commando" - ITVs factual line up is strong, distinctive and popular.