C4’s specialist factual chief Fatima Salaria joins Fremantle-owned Naked

Fatima Salaria

Head of specialist factual at the UK’s channel 4 Fatima Salaria has been appointed MD at I Can See Your Voice’s UK producer Naked.

Salaria will oversee Fremantle-owned Naked on creative and commercial fronts, working closely with creative director Tom O’Brien and COO Susie Dark.

She replaces former chief Simon Andreae, who was recently appointed CEO at Naked’s parent company Fremantle UK, replacing Liam Humphreys.

Salaria joins following an 18-month stint at the UK’s C4, where she was responsible for formats including SAS: Who Dares Wins as well as documentaries such as 100 Vaginas and 3 Identical Strangers.

Simon Andreae

She was also behind Ramadan In Lockdown and Race Against The Virus, as well as guiding C4’s response to the killing of George Floyd with the Take Your Knee Off My Neck series of shorts. Prior to C4, she was commissioning editor for religion and ethics at the BBC, and before that was a producer and director.

Andreae described Salaria as “an exceptional next generation leader with a bold and broad vision that melds perfectly with Tom and Susie’s ethos and with Naked’s growing brand for smart and popular shows with strong characters and great stories.”

Salaria added: “I’ll be sad to leave Channel 4; I’ve enjoyed working with so many creatives especially my colleague Danny Horan and so many brilliant indies who’ve been a pleasure to collaborate with. This is a great chance to develop my career in a new direction with Simon Andreae at Fremantle, someone who I’ve long admired who shares my creative vision and supports the drive for greater diversity in the industry.”

Naked’s slate includes The Rap Game UK and 21 Again for BBC3, as well as Manson: The Lost Tapes for ITV, the upcoming Ghost for C4, and The Day I Picked My Parents for A&E Networks.

Last week, the BBC ordered a local version of hit South Korean music format I Can See Your Face, to be produced by Naked and fellow Fremantle firm Thames. It will debut in 2021.

Fremantle acquired a minority stake in Andreae-founded Naked in 2015 and took full control in February.