Dramatic exit

Farewell, too, to the passionate Ben Stephenson, pumper of the pipeline of Original British Drama for the BBC. He's off to make a new life in Los Angeles, after a steady number of trips funded by Auntie. He'll be back, no doubt, for the launch of London Spy, a drama series written by his partner Tom Rob Smith, and maybe for The Farm, a Tom Rob Smith thriller optioned by BBC Films.

One last (?) Ben commission announced yesterday - a new work by Stephen Poliakoff, who, by my reckoning has contributed 15 single dramas or series to BBC since 1977. There have been seven BBC programmes on tv and radio dedicated to analysis of his brilliance.