Ralph Lee has been named as Channel 4′;s new Head of Factual. His appointment coincides with a change in the structure of factual commissioning that brings the documentary and specialist factual teams together into one department.

Lee”s appointment also coincides with the departure of C4 head of documentaries Hamish Mykura. Mykura, who spent 10 years working at Channel 4, has not yet announced what he will do next.

Commenting on the changes, Channel 4 chief creative officer Jay Hunt said: “We have been working hard to make Channel 4 more accessible to suppliers and this new structure will streamline the factual commissioning team and speed up the time it takes to get back to producers. Previously there was overlap between departments with suppliers often pitching the same ideas to a number of teams. The new structure creates a one stop shop and ensures more coordination, as well as cross-fertilisation, between the different genres.”

Lee originally joined Channel 4 in September 2002 as specialist factual commissioning editor. He left Channel 4 at the end of 2007 to take up the post of Head of Factual at Five before returning in March 2008. According to Hunt, he is “a formidable creative leader and a superlative manager. His knowledge and enthusiasm across a range of specialisms as well as his substantial track record for bringing fresh approaches to factual television make him the ideal person to take C4 Factual to the next level.”  With Lee unveiled, Channel 4 will now advertise for a Deputy Head of Factual.