HQ to house drama unit

Canadian executive poached from BBC as television broadcaster prepares to return to Yorkshire roots

DRAMA WILL be among the units relocated to Channel 4’s new headquarters in Leeds.

Its renewed relationship with the city will see ex-BBC executive Navi Lamba’s Digital Creative Unit developing “young-focused content”.

She said the channel’s earlier shows had been “part of my formative years, in spite of the fact that I grew up in Canada”, and added: “Being able to join a channel that has had such a big influence on me is a dream come true.”

Tony Capstick, whose radio show was an institution in Sheffield, did not have another TV series when his Channel 4 days ended. He died in 2003.

PICTURES: CHANNEL 4/BBC CITY LINKS: Clockwise from left, Channel 4 hit Countdown was filmed in Leeds; the channel’s first head of entertainment Cecil Korer, from Leeds, also worked on It’s a Knockout, above, and booked Tony Capstick’s sketch show, below.