Guy Phenix

Guy Phenix, a producer with a couple of previous BBC stints on his resumé, has returned to Britain’s mighty pubcaster in a new commissioning executive role for animation targeting the zero to six crowd. Based in Belfast, Phenix is responsible for finding and locking down a wide range of high-quality animation from both domestic and international suppliers. 

According to its 2024/2025 editorial brief, the BBC’s development priorities for this demo include entertainment-first content, live-action and animated comedies, and animation for kids up to age three. One thing the BBC is looking for specifically is “imaginative, exciting [comedy-dramas] that reflect preschoolers’ honest and often hilarious perceptions of what family life is all about.” But it already has enough wind-down/bedtime, numeracy, nature/wildlife/pet and music-focused content for these viewers. 

Phenix has spent the past two years working as a business development manager at Northern Irish animation studio Dog Ears, on the heels of a couple of development producer turns for Studio Something (2021) and TG Entertainment (2021 to 2022). But he has also been part of past Beeb teams, serving as a development producer for CBBC and CBeebies (2018 to 2020) and a development producer of animation for CBeebies (2022). He is best known for helping to get The Amelia Gething Complex off the ground at the BBC, and for his work building Puffin Rock at Dog Ears.

The BBC is the biggest funder of kids content in the UK. It greenlit 21 kids shows in 2024, according to Ampere Analysis, and some of its most recent kids commissions include live-action series Gifted, Gladiators: Epic Pranks and Stage Stars, and Pablo: Boy Meets World.