Paramount UK chief Sarah Rose is leaving at the end of this year to join The Royal Foundation run by Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Rose has sent a note to staff in the past few minutes. She has been President of Channel 5 (now 5) and Regional Lead, UK for Paramount since February 2024. She is a highly-rated UK TV exec who was widely tipped as a frontrunner to replace Alex Mahon as CEO of Channel 4. Instead, she will be CEO of the charitable organization overseen by the future King and his wife, a job she described in her internal staff memo as a “career-defining, unique role which I simply could not turn down.”
A process has commenced to appoint a successor to Rose, which will be overseen by Kevin MacLellan, President International and Global Content Distribution, who will be in the UK next week. The highly-rated Ben Frow will continue to lead 5 creatively, as Chief Content Officer. He has been tipped as a potential future programs chief of Channel 4.
The news comes following the completion of the Paramount-Skydance merger. Paramount will now be looking for a new UK chief in this new era. Rumors had swirled around the future of 5 and Paramount’s other linear international assets like Australia’s Network 10, but Frow recently told the Edinburgh TV Festival that 5 will not be sold and new boss David Ellison is “very keen on ” the network.
Rose said the “decision to leave now has been all the more difficult because I am both impressed and excited by the vision and strategy Skydance has articulated since acquiring Paramount.”
“The International Division is in very safe hands with Kevin MacLellan, who understands our business intimately and has an impressive track record of his own,” she added. “Hot on the heels of 5’s Channel of the Year accolade, the business is well-equipped to thrive.”
Rose said she will work with Frow and the wider team “to leave it in the best possible shape for 2026 and beyond” throughout the rest of this year. “So this is not a goodbye note yet. No tributes or thank yous,” she added. “There is plenty of work to be done before any of that. But I did want to ensure that you heard the news from me directly and I will just allow one small personal observation to sneak through: I have worked in public service broadcasting for thirty years and have never felt as at home or as passionate about a place as much as I have about this business I’ve had the privilege of running.”
Rose first joined Paramount UK in 2020 and has overseen a strong period for 5 in lockstep with Frow, during which time it has improved linear at a time of rivals’ declines and made splashy drama bets like the All Creatures Great and Small reboot. More recently, it has struck an NFL deal and just tied with Piers Morgan on a highlights show for his Uncensored YouTube show.