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Channel 4’s newly formed in-house production arm has announced its first senior appointment: format creator Adam Adler will join as Creative Director. The hire, made by unit head Sarah Dillistone, signals a push to develop original IP that the broadcaster can export internationally.
Adam Adler: a proven format-maker
Adam Adler is best known as the creator of The Cube, the ITV gameshow that ran for 11 seasons and almost 100 episodes between 2009 and 2021; a U.S. version aired for three seasons on TBS. His credits also include Bar Wars and The Games, and he has recently been executive producing Channel 4’s upcoming Derren Brown: Incognito.
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Adler is a former Channel 4 entertainment commissioner who ran the indie Gameface before moving to Potato, the label owned by ITV Studios. In his new role he will lead on developing formats for Channel 4’s internal production business.
Why the unit matters
Channel 4 launched the in-house production division after a government attempt to privatize the broadcaster failed. The unit is positioned as a way for the broadcaster’s creative network—often associated with shows such as Gogglebox—to originate formats that can be sold abroad.
Channel 4 says the new team is insulated from its commissioning side by a “clear operational firewall,” a measure intended to keep commissioning decisions separate from production activity.
Sarah Dillistone’s role and background
Sarah Dillistone was unveiled as head of the new unit at the start of 2026. She moved back to London from Los Angeles after six years working on reality formats including Perfect Match and The Ultimatum.
Dillistone called Adler an “unrivalled creative force.” “He is one of the most prolific format creators around spanning gameshow, reality and entertainment,” she added. “Adam’s experience originating ambitious and unpredictable formats from The Cube to Channel 4’s brand new reality series Incognito, coupled with my own background originating and showrunning reality, social experiments and relationship shows, makes for an exciting mix.”
Quotes and ambitions
Adler said: “I’m really excited to be joining Dilly at the start of this new venture. Channel 4 has always had attitude and originality, and I’d love us to bottle some of that up and take it out into the world. The ambition is to create exciting ideas with that same spirit, for TV and beyond.”
Wider reshuffle across unscripted and entertainment
The appointment comes amid a broad internal restructure. Around half of Channel 4’s commissioners are being let go as roles are consolidated.
As part of the reshuffle, highly rated docs chief Alisa Pomeroy has been promoted to head of unscripted. Her remit now covers documentaries, factual entertainment, reality, entertainment and specialist factual—a substantial expansion of responsibility.
Industry reporting also indicates departures at the top of comedy and entertainment. Broadcast has reported that comedy head Charlie Perkins and entertainment chief Steve Handley are leaving. Channel 4 is expected to appoint a senior figure to oversee both drama and comedy in the coming months, while new content boss David Brindley is due to begin his tenure in January.
Channel 4 has said more updates on the creative and development side of the in-house unit will be announced soon.
