Alan Yentob
Birthday:
March 11, 1947 in London, England, UK
Alan Yentob has held many of the most prestigious positions at the BBC. He joined as a general trainee in 1968. After working on arts programmes such as Omnibus (1967) and Arena (1975), he was made Head of Music and Arts at the BBC (1985 - 1988), Controller of BBC Two (1988 - 1993), Controller of BBC One (1993 - 1997), BBC Director of Programmes in...
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Alan Yentob has held many of the most prestigious positions at the BBC. He joined as a general trainee in 1968. After working on arts programmes such as Omnibus (1967) and Arena (1975), he was made Head of Music and Arts at the BBC (1985 - 1988), Controller of BBC Two (1988 - 1993), Controller of BBC One (1993 - 1997), BBC Director of Programmes in Production (1997 - 1998), BBC Director of Television (1998 - 2000), Director of Drama, Entertainment and CBBC (2000 - 2004) and Creative Director of the BBC (2004 - present).As well as his role at the BBC, he is on the Board of The South Bank and the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He is also Chairman of the Institute of Contemporary Art and the charity Kids Company. Show less «
[on the death of Bill Cotton] Under his leadership in the '70s the BBC commissioned and produced a raft of entertainment and comedy which se...Show more »
[on the death of Bill Cotton] Under his leadership in the '70s the BBC commissioned and produced a raft of entertainment and comedy which set a benchmark for these genres which has rarely been surpassed. From Monty Python (Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969)) to Morecambe And Wise (The Morecambe & Wise Show (1968)), from The Generation Game (Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game (1971)) to Dad's Army (1968), these shows and others like them have helped to define not just a genre but a generation. Bill Cotton was always there to remind us that the BBC mission to entertain could be just as ambitious and aspirational as our commitment to inform and educate. Show less «
[on the frustrating complications of programme commissioning] You know what these things are like. You know there is endless discussions, ne...Show more »
[on the frustrating complications of programme commissioning] You know what these things are like. You know there is endless discussions, negotiations. You know what the American networks are like, you know what Hollywood is like, you know what the BBC is like. You can't trust anyone, believe me. These things take a while. Show less «
