“Innovation is absolutely mission critical” – Rhuanedd Richards, Director of Nations at BBC

Rhuanedd Richards is Director of Nations at BBC. In an exclusive interview as part of Media Cymru’s “Fuelling the future” innovation campaign, she shares why innovation is critical for the BBC’s future, why the Content Innovation Fund with Media Cymru was created and her hopes for the sector in the next ten years.  

Media Cymru × BBC Cymru Wales 

My name is Rhuanedd Richards. I’m Director if Nations at BBC, responsible for setting the strategy of the organisation and responsible for all the content made, produced and commissioned. 

The partnership between BBC Cymru Wales and Media Cymru has been an important one – working out where the gaps are, where we can work together, and how we can innovate. We’ve created key partnerships, including creating a Content Innovation Fund, where we’ve worked together to bring ideas to the fore that we can use in our productions and in our content for audiences, serving audiences well and innovating across our platforms with different formats. To date, it’s been a fantastic, productive collaboration. 

BBC Content Innovation Fund 

The Content Innovation Fund has been a great development because it’s allowed us to work with the creative sector to think about new ways of reaching audiences. We started working with Media Cymru on this in 2022 and there were two companies that were beneficiaries of that fund: Boom Cymru and Little Bird Films. And that has led to us working together to develop technologies and formats, one of which will be on our screens next summer – a project we’re doing in Merthyr Tydfil: unlocking and uncovering Wales’ contribution to the industrial revolution.  

With our second round of funding, we’ve invited ideas for storytelling around climate change. The aim of the project is to inspire new ways to engage with our audiences on this difficult topic, finding new methods of storytelling around the climate crisis and how it’s impacting our communities.  

Audiences are changing their habits rapidly. This is a sector that has faced enormous change over the last decade, and it keeps changing. So innovation is absolutely mission critical for us in the BBC – we have to keep thinking about how we’re reaching audiences, how we’re creating new formats, new platforms, new ways of telling stories, and that’s why it’s so important that we work together, that we collaborate with the creative sector in Wales to get the right content to people and that audiences feel value for their license fee. 

“We must keep innovating when it comes to commissioning…” 

The truth is that when it comes to commissioning, we’re having to think anew about how we reach audiences. We’re having to adapt our content so that it works across our digital platforms – from BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds, BBC News Online and BBC Sport online – thinking about new formats, new ways of telling stories that will attract new audiences from across the generations. That’s why we must keep innovating when it comes to commissioning and thinking about how we’re reaching those audiences in different ways. 

“I’m confident about the future of the creative industries…” 

The creative industries are a huge part of the Welsh economy. Today the Welsh creative industries account for 3.3% of total businesses across all industries; contributing more than £1.4 billion annually, which is quite incredible. It’s a real success story and one that we should be so proud of. The BBC’s decision to bring Doctor Who to Wales 20 years ago is largely credited as the catalyst for that growth. I’d say that was an innovative decision in itself and it wasn’t without its risk. Since 2005, Doctor Who production activities contributed approximately £134.6m in GVA to the Welsh economy. That – and so many other productions – continue to fuel the Welsh economy. They also fuel skills development and career opportunities for so many individuals working in the industry. But to stay on top of our game and to ensure that we’re a leading force in the creative industries, not just in the UK, but in the global field, we have to keep innovating.  

What’s great in my job is I get to meet people from across the UK from the creative industries on a regular basis and it makes me so immensely proud, the reputation Wales has for punching above its weight when it comes to the creative industries. We are one of THE locations for primary drama commissions. We are known for being a centre of excellence when it comes to production and that’s something we should be proud of – but we can’t rest on our laurels. In order to remain in that position and to maintain that position, as a leading place for the creative industries, we must innovate. We must think anew about how we reach audiences and develop formats and storytelling that’s going to reach new audiences in future, so that’s why this work is so critical to the future of the Welsh economy.  

I think the Welsh media sector is going to go from strength to strength and I’m confident about the future of the creative industries. We already have a reputation for being world-class, creating some of the best content there is on TV, video and online.  But I know we can go even further, nurturing the skills and expertise the industry needs and continuing to innovate within this sector. I’m  confident that Wales will remain top of the game when it comes to creating content that audiences want – and remaining one of the best places in Europe to do business when it comes to the creative industries.  

About Rhuanedd Richards 

Rhuanedd is the Director of Nations and sits on the BBC’s Executive Committee and on each of the Nations Committees of the BBC Board. 

She has responsibility for leading all work serving nations and local audiences across Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland. 

Appointed to the role in June 2025, Rhuanedd leads the BBC’s work serving nations and local audiences across the UK.   

Previously, Rhuanedd was Director, BBC Cymru Wales with overall responsibility for the content strategy and editorial priorities for the Nation across all media platforms and services in both the English and Welsh languages. 

Rhuanedd started her career with BBC Wales as a journalist before presenting some of its flagship news and political programmes on radio and television. 

She subsequently worked in government and politics in Wales before returning to the BBC as Editor of Welsh Language services in 2018. 

Originally from the Cynon Valley, Rhuanedd attended Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen. She then studied at Aberystwyth University and was awarded a BBC scholarship to study a post-graduate diploma in Cardiff University’s School of Journalism. Rhuanedd is Deputy Chair of Aberystwyth University Council, an Honorary Fellow of the university, and lives in Pontypridd with her family.