Disney+ is building out its scripted team for the UK.

The streamer has appointed What It Feels Like For a Girl exec producer Ron O’Berst as Director, Scripted Originals UK, and Wreck development exec Laura Klimke as Senior Development Manager, Scripted Originals UK.

This comes six months after Disney+ EMEA Head of Content Angela Jain promoted four execs and then revealed a slate of European originals at Series Mania in March.

Disney+’s UK commissioning team are behind the well-regarded ‘bonkbuster’ Rivals and comedy-drama Alice and Steve, with O’Berst joining to ramp up investment in local UK originals for the Disney+ and Hulu brands. Recent Euro originals have included Breslau out of Poland, Bref.2 in France, This is Not Hollywood in Italy and Invisible in Spain.

Based in London, O’Berst and Klimke will report to Lee Mason, Vice President, Scripted Content, Disney+ EMEA, working with his scripted originals team to identify, develop and commission for Disney+ and Hulu audiences.

“As we ramp up our Originals slate, Ron and Laura bring exceptional creative expertise, outstanding industry relationships and a shared passion for championing distinctive voices,” said Jain. “Their appointments are another important step in our ambitious plan to build a world-class originals team who will deliver more volume and variety, alongside the high standards of creative excellence our audiences expect.”

O’Berst joins from Hera Pictures, where he was most recently executive producer on BBC Three’s BAFTA-nominated drama What It Feels Like for a Girl, which was recently acquired by Prime Video and is based on the memoir by Paris Lees. He also served as Story Producer on Mary & George for Sky Atlantic and Starz. Prior to joining Hera Pictures in 2020, O’Berst was Head of Development at Drama Republic and Head of Scripted Development at BBC Worldwide. He began his career at Channel 4 and Discovery Networks International.

I’ve long admired Angela, Lee and the wider team’s impeccable taste, and I’m looking forward to working with them as Disney continues to grow internationally with such an incredible slate of projects,” said O’Berst.

Klimke joins from Pure Fiction Television, where she was executive producer, and has also spent four years as Head of Development at Euston Films, where she worked on projects including the BBC’s Hard Sun and ITV’s The Sister, both written by Neil Cross. More recently, she developed comedy-horror drama Wreck, which ran on BBC Three for two seasons.

“Disney is making some of the most ambitious, vibrant British drama with incredible creatives, and I am thrilled to join Lee and the team in finding the next slate of shows that defy expectation,” she said.