Lucy Lumsden is Sky's new Head of Comedy

Lucy Lumsden, currently Head of Comedy Commissioning at the BBC, has been appointed Head of Comedy across the Sky TV channels. Stuart Murphy, Sky's director of programming, said:

Comedy takes time to get right, and it's an art not a science, but with Lucy at the helm it feels like we are giving ourselves the best chance of generating hits which our subscribers will love. I loved working with her before, and can't wait to start working with her again."

Sky certainly seems to be taking original programming more seriously since Murphy's appointment and getting lots of positive media coverage - for example, for the current adaptation (by Neil Biswas) of Martina Cole's novel The Take. Lumsden's appointment is being seen as a real sign of intent in a bid to become a serious force in original comedy.