主播大秀

主播大秀 Two . A whistle-stop tour of all the people who have graced the Controller鈥檚 hot seat was in order.

Where possible we've used the scans of the original promotional photograph taken of each incumbent when they were controller. For the sake of authenticity, and to give things a slightly nostalgic feel, we've chosen not to apply any colour correction.

Launching 主播大秀 Two (20 April 1964)

"The channel was launched with the remit of offering an alternative and more experimental style of television broadcasting ... with the rather quirky symbol of Hullaboo and Custard - a kangaroo and its baby. Opening night was a candle-lit affair of an unexpected kind. A massive power failure in West London plunged the studios into darkness, blacking out the planned glitter of the 'night that nearly was'.鈥�

(From )

听

Michael Peacock (Controller, 1964-1965)

Getting viewers to switch channels to watch the new station was no mean feat. In an article in the Times in 1964, the first Controller of the network Michael Peacock defended a subsequent programme reshuffle:

"Not a panic move, it was a logistical development based on experience gained over the past few months鈥� Mr Peacock said he believed the 主播大秀 had underestimated the amount of persuasive power necessary to get people to convert to 主播大秀 Two. He was not surprised that there had been no radical increase in second channel viewing figures.鈥�

(From听New Programmes For B.B.C. 2, The听Times, 听2 Sept. 1964)

Despite this, in his short time as Controller he oversaw the conception of Match of the Day, and sitcom The Likely Lads. Peacock went on to be Controller of 主播大秀 One, one of only three people have held both posts to date (the other two being Alan Yentob and Michael Jackson).

听

David Attenborough (Controller, 1965-1969)

An article in the Times announced David Attenborough鈥檚 appointment to the post of 主播大秀 Two Controller. Entitled "Aim of alternative viewing" it said:

鈥淢r Attenborough 鈥� is well known to television audiences through his travel and animal programmes, notably his Zoo Quest series which took him all over the world鈥� Mr Attenborough said to reporters yesterday that, when he was informed of the appointment last week, he was planning a trip to Ecuador to study rare birds鈥� Mr Attenborough said he watched 主播大秀 Two frequently and, while he would hesitate to describe it as his favourite channel, it had provided some excellent programmes.鈥�

(From Mr. David Attenborough Is New B.B.C.2 Head,听Times 5 Mar. 1965, The Times Digital Archive)

Sir David Attenborough celebrated 60 years in broadcasting in 2012 and is the only person to have won BAFTAs for programmes in black and white, colour, HD and 3D. Appropriately enough Attenborough oversaw the first colour TV broadcasts which began in 1967 on 主播大秀 Two (colour didn鈥檛 arrive on 主播大秀 One until 1969).

听

Robin Scott (Controller, 1969-1974)

Prior to his role at 主播大秀 Two Robin Scott was the Controller of Radio 1 and Radio 2. During this time he ruffled feathers at the Musician's Union with his approval of, and desire to, play more recorded music on the radio (the MU had a long held view that "the playing of records denied work to musicians")

听

Alan Yentob, then 主播大秀 Director of Television, on hearing of said; "He will be remembered as a pioneer at the 主播大秀鈥� he was a great advocate of quality programme-making and encouraged many talents inside the 主播大秀. His passion for the arts was infectious."

Notable programmes from Scott鈥檚 time as Controller include Alistair Cook鈥檚 America.

听

Aubrey Singer (Controller, 1974-1978)

"The finest Director-General the 主播大秀 never had鈥�"

It seems science at the 主播大秀 owes a debt to Aubrey Singer whose love of it and desire to introduce it into programming led to the creation of Horizon and Tomorrow鈥檚 World while he was in the 主播大秀 Two Controller鈥檚 chair.

"He displayed the same sunny confidence as he built up what was in effect a private features empire within the 主播大秀, initially in scientific topics because he thought science was neglected, but soon expanded to take in the arts and any other subject."

(From The Guardian)

His obituary in the Times says his role as Controller of 主播大秀 Two was the job he "most enjoyed". Whilst in the role the classic Roman drama I, Claudius starring Derek Jacobi was first broadcast on the channel.

听

Brian Wenham (Controller, 1978-1982)

In a time when Channel 4鈥檚 inception was on the horizon 鈥� and a threat 主播大秀 Two鈥檚 viewing figures, Brian Wenham raised audience viewing figures to the network by 50%.

"He is remembered by his colleagues of those days as a laid-back, warm-hearted genius, one who always wore an Astrakhan cap which made him look like a Pakistani guerrilla.鈥�

(From The Independent)

Among the programmes commissioned during Wenham's time as Controller was Alan Bleasdale鈥檚 Boys from the Blackstuff which is still cited by many writers as hugely influential.

听

Graeme MacDonald (Controller, 1982-1987)

听

"His elegant and civilised approach, backed up by a natural bent for orderly administration, and a gift for staff relations, made him ideal for the role of a 主播大秀 producer from the 1960s to the 1980s."

(From The Independent)

Although his work on The Wednesday Play and A Play for Today is often remembered as a high point in his career (he produced the series from 1967-77 with writers like Jack Rosenthal, Christopher Hampton, Peter Nichols, John McGrath and Howard Brenton) it is worth noting that 主播大秀 Schools programming (which later became the 主播大秀 Learning Zone in 2010) came into being during MacDonald鈥檚 time as Controller of 主播大秀 Two.

听

Alan Yentob (Controller, 1987-1992)

Alan Yentob joined as a general trainee in 1968:

"In those early years, I looked upon the 主播大秀 as my education. I never thought of what I could give but what they were giving me. I learnt so much about books, music, painting. I'd go to work and think, my God, I'm getting paid for this."

(From The Independent)

Programmes that came to 主播大秀 Two under Yentob鈥檚 stewardship include The Late Show, Have I Got News For You, Absolutely Fabulous and Wallace and Gromit's The Wrong Trousers.

听

听

Michael Jackson (Controller, 1992-1996)

Initially brought in to the 主播大秀 by Alan Yentob to run The Late Show, Michael Jackson went on to take Yentob鈥檚 place in the hot-seat at 主播大秀 Two and later 主播大秀 One Controller too. He left the 主播大秀 in 1998 to join Channel 4.

"As Controller of 主播大秀 Twp and chief executive of Channel 4, he hung up pictures of Lord Reith and PT Barnum, explaining to visitors that his theory of TV was that you needed to be positioned roughly in the middle between the great cultural public servant and the circus huckster.鈥�

(From The Guardian)

Programmes on 主播大秀 Two when Jackson was Controller include the groundbreaking drama Our Friends in the North by Peter Flannery.

听

听

Mark Thompson (Controller, 1996-1999)

Mark Thompson joined the 主播大秀 as a production trainee in 1979. He went on to work across many 主播大秀 programmes including Newsnight, The Nine O鈥機lock News and Panorama. He became controller of 主播大秀 Two in 1996. A year later he caught the Guardian鈥檚 eye at the Royal Television Society convention:

"It was an otherwise unremarkable September afternoon at the 1997 Royal Television Society convention in Cambridge when Mark Thompson's career was made. All the biggest names in broadcasting were gathered, the 主播大秀's digital plans had been unveiled by John Birt and the hushed assembly waited to hear from one of the corporation's biggest names, Alan Yentob.

"But Yentob had broken a tooth on an unscheduled toffee, so instead it was the relatively junior exec Mark Thompson who stepped up to speak, unscripted, about the essence of 主播大秀 values. Looking as if he'd stepped out of an M&S catalogue in a sludge-green pullover, boyishly disarming, he could have been a disaster. Yet he suddenly spoke from the heart, about what the 主播大秀 meant to him, of how its programmes were crafted with pride - he compared them to home-made, carefully prepared food鈥� On such moments careers hang. You need luck, yes. But courage too."

(From The Guardian)

The channel鈥檚 programming under Thompson included Our Mutual Friend, The Royle Family and Storyville. He went on to become 主播大秀 Director-General in 2004 and left the corporation in 2012.

听

Jane Root (Controller, 1999-2004)

Jane Root was the first female Controller of a 主播大秀 Channel. She was nick-named, "The High Priestess of Lifestyle Television" after bringing Jamie Oliver to the nation's screens. In an interview in the Telegraph in 2003 Root said:

听

"I don't think women do it terribly differently. A lot of my biggest successes have been very male programmes - I don't think reinventing Top Gear or commissioning SAS Are You Tough Enough? was a girl thing."

(From The Telegraph)

Popular programmes in the 主播大秀 Two schedules during Jane Root's time as Controller include The Office, The Weakest Link and Who Do you Think You Are? While Top Gear was originally launched in 1977 the current format enjoyed by worldwide audiences came into being in 2002 under Root's tenure 鈥� Top Gear was one of the most watched iPlayer programmes in 2013.

听

Roly Keating (Controller, 2004-2008)

Roly Keating joined the 主播大秀 as a general trainee in 1983 and rose through the ranks to take the job of Controller 主播大秀 Two in 2004 (he had already been responsible for launching 主播大秀 Four in in 2002). There was a short period after the departure of Peter Fincham as Controller 主播大秀 One in 2008 when Keating was in charge of both channels, though he said the 主播大秀 One role was: "not a job I鈥檝e ever aspired to".

听

鈥淭he cerebral, softly-spoken Keating has never seemed the kind of man who would feel at home with the shiny floors and big egos of 主播大秀1. And while he has proved a safe interim pair of hands there, he has quietly performed an impressive feat at 主播大秀2鈥�

鈥淪itting cross-legged on the sofa in his sparsely furnished office, Keating lists the reasons he thinks 主播大秀2 has to a large extent succeeded where many predicted it would fail. "In the last year and a half or so we have got the right ingredients in the right mix," he says, mentally reaching for his book of channel controller's cliches. Or perhaps he is calling to mind Masterchef, just one of a string of fading 主播大秀2 brands revived during his stewardship.鈥�

(From The Guardian)

Other memorable 主播大秀 Two programmes from Keating鈥檚 time include Andrew Marr's History Of Modern Britain, The Choir, Jerry Springer The Opera, Stephen Fry 鈥� The Secret Life Of The Manic Depressive, Extras and The Catherine Tate Show. He is currently Chief Executive of the British Library.

听

Janice Hadlow (Controller, 2008-March 2014)

Janice Hadlow first slipped on a 主播大秀 lanyard in 1986 as a production trainee. She worked her way through the ranks and many interesting jobs (like Producer on Radio 4鈥檚 Woman鈥檚 Hour) to become Controller of 主播大秀 Two in 2008 (like her predecessor Roly Keating, Hadlow had previously taken the lead role at 主播大秀 Four).

Janice was named in The Observer鈥檚 Bright Stuff list in 2004 , a 鈥渟election of 80 prodigiously talented young people who we believe will shape our lives in the early 21st century.鈥� When she was chosen for the 主播大秀 Two role she said:

"There could be no better job in the broadcasting world than that of controller of 主播大秀2. For me, there's no channel that's more exciting, more original, more enticing and above all, more important. Growing up, it was 主播大秀2 that helped shape my vision of the world, with its distinctive mix of intelligence, authority and wit."

(From The Guardian)

In Hadlow鈥檚 time 主播大秀 Two has ventured successfully into 'event television', with live events like Lambing Live, Stargazing Live and World Book Night. Other programmes during her tenure include Miranda, The Trip, Rev, The Hour, The Shadow Line and The Fall. But most importantly for everyone at About the 主播大秀 鈥� cake lovers that we are 鈥� she is responsible for green-lighting The Great British Bake Off for which we shall be forever grateful.

听

Kim Shillinglaw (Controller, 2014-)

Since Janice Hadlow stepped down, Adam Barker has been acting Controller of 主播大秀 Two. Last week. the we announced the appointment of Kim Shillinglaw to the role of .

Jake Kanter writing for industry newspaper Broadcast said:

"Rarely is the race to become a channel controller so clear cut. Kim Shillinglaw was the only name on 主播大秀 insiders鈥� lips while 主播大秀2 was hunting for a new boss, and, sure enough, the science and natural history commissioner has landed the role.

"a near-主播大秀 lifer, is known to be a straight-talking, confident operator with a penchant for the odd expletive, which one source described as 'quite refreshing'"

听

Hannah Khalil is Digital Producer, About The 主播大秀 Website and Blog.

听

听

听

• 主播大秀 Two鈥檚 opening night on YouTube
• 主播大秀 Two will be marking its 50 year anniversary with a suite of programmes including 听(Saturday 20 April at 9pm), (Saturday at 8pm) and a .听
• Follow on Twitter

听

听