The commercial arm of Welsh public broadcaster S4C has hired Claire Urquhart to head up a content fund it’s launching at the end of August.

In her new role, Urquhart will assess high-potential project concepts and creative partnerships in a variety of genres—including kids content—to potentially receive financing.

“Whether it’s securing rights to a top-selling book, creating a pilot in a popular genre, or scaling up an exciting production—the team will look at projects on a case-by-case basis,” said Urquhart in a release. “All we ask is to bring us your biggest and best ideas.”

The fund is aiming to feed a rising international interest in Welsh-language content that S4C is seeing in the market right now. For instance, last month, actor Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort channel inked a partnership to air S4C content in the US as part of its new “Welsh Wednesdays” block.

Under the oversight of S4C chief executive Sian Doyle, Urquhart will work closely with commercial team CFO Sharon Winogorski and COO Elin Morris, as well as collaborating with the commissioning team led by CCO Llinos Griffin-Williams.

She officially started last week and is based in Cardiff. Urquhart is a seasoned development and production exec whose resumé includes stints at the BBC as head of features development and Bristol’s Tigress Productions as head of development. In 2022, she became creative director of her own shingle, Silver Strand Pictures.

S4C’s weekly viewership is up 8% year over year in 2023, according to the annual report it released on July 12. “The availability of our content on a variety of digital platforms has meant that more people are watching, especially younger viewers,” said Rhodri Williams, chair of S4C’s Unitary Board, in a release.

For its younger viewers, S4C has just renewed Byd Tad-Cu for a second season that will launch this fall on preschool service Cyw. Boom Cymru produces the show, which is the Welsh-language version of popular UK series The World According to Grandpa.