Broadcasting veteran Audrey Cole will executive produce the Canadian Film Centre’s inaugural Television Resident Programme, launching January 1999.

Cole, a former vp programming for Showcase Television, developed the tv division of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

In her new role, Cole will be responsible for the strategic design and delivery of the cfc’s first primetime television series development initiative, which will bring together up to 15 writer trainees and senior tv creators in story teams to package television projects ready to be pitched to broadcasters.

Now that an executive producer has been named, the tv program is moving into a recruitment phase where producer/broadcaster mentors will be lined up and industry sponsors and suppliers brought on board, says cfc director of marketing Katherine Halpenny. The cfc is currently in talks with seasoned producers to bring forward series proposals that have already garnered broadcaster interest. Up to three projects will be chosen to go through the development process.

The deadline for writer trainees to apply to the program is Oct. 9.