LONDON: Former kids presenter Andi Peters has emerged as the surprise choice for the commissioning editor post at Channel 4’s children and youth programming division.

Peters, who is best remembered by Brits as presenter of BBC weekend magazine show Live & Kicking, will take on an expanded brief that will make teenagers a top priority at the channel. Currently, he is in-house producer at London-based ITV company LWT.

The C4 children’s post has been vacant since last summer, when Lucinda Whitely quit to join PolyGram. The delay is partly explained by a top-level reshuffle at C4 that has seen personnel in most departments overhauled.

Channel 4 deputy director of programming Karen Brown, who oversaw the selection process, says, ‘I am thrilled that Andi Peters wants to be a commissioning editor at C4, and his appointment has received an encouraging response. In order to take account of his strengths, we are changing the designation of the role to include young people.’

Brown confirms that older children are a priority for C4, which has already had success in attracting teenagers at breakfast time and through its early evening entertainment magazines. ‘The five- to 10-year-old market is well served. So we will be looking at how we can place older children center stage and get them directly engaged in the shaping of programs, rather than just making programs for them.’

Although Peters is best known for his presenting work, Brown stresses that ‘we shouldn’t ignore what he has achieved during the last couple of years as a producer at LWT.’ During that time, Peters successfully produced such projects as An Audience with the Spice Girls and Train to Win: Gladiators.

ï News brief: Pocahontas on ABC

Pocahontas, Disney’s animated film about the Native American heroine, will make its prime-time television debut on The Wonderful World of Disney on ABC March 1. The film will appear as part of Disney’s two-hour special on Pocahontas, entitled Pocahontas: A Living Legend. Disney will also use the special to premiere ‘Where Do I Go From Here?’, a song from the direct-to-home video sequel called Pocahontas: Journey to a New World, which will be available from Buena Vista Home Entertainment in August.