‘Towering figure in British broadcasting’ Alan Yentob dies aged 78

Yentob joined the BBC in 1968 as a trainee at the World Service where he worked his way through the ranks to become the corporation’s head of music and arts in 1985.

During his tenure at BBC2, Yentob was credited with the commissions of shows like Absolutely Fabulous and Have I Got News For You, which later moved to BBC One. He also launched CBBC and CBeebies.

In 1993, he became the official controller of BBC1. His drama commissions ranged from Middlemarch and Pride And Prejudice to Ballykissangel, while wielding an axe to the failing Spain-set soap Eldorado.

He also presented shows for the BBC, including a series on the life of artist Leonardo da Vinci, and a regular arts series, Imagine, from 2003.

The broadcaster was appointed creative director, to oversee the BBC’s creative strategy, in 2004 and he also served as chairman of the board of trustees for Kids Company, founded by Camila Batmanghelidjh, from 2003 until the collapse of the charity in 2015.

Tributes have poured in, with BBC director-general Tim Davie saying: “Alan Yentob was a towering figure in British broadcasting and the arts. A creative force and a cultural visionary, he shaped decades of programming at the BBC and beyond, with a passion for storytelling and public service that leave a lasting legacy.”

He described the broadcaster as an “unforgettable presence”, who was “engaging, witty and endlessly curious, he brought energy and warmth to every conversation. He was generous with his time, fierce in his convictions, and full of joy in the work of others.”

Yentob was born in London in 1947 to a family who left Iraq for Manchester. He grew up in Didsbury until he was 12. The family then moved back to London and Yentob went on to study law at the University of Leeds, where he became heavily involved in drama.

He joined the BBC in 1968 as a general trainee. At the time, he was the only non-Oxbridge graduate and took his first job with the corporation’s World Service.

In 1975, he secured unprecedented access to David Bowie for Cracked Actor, by the BBC’s Omnibus strand, which captured the British artist in the throes of a cocaine-induced identity crisis in Los Angeles.

Jane Lush, ex-controller of  BBC Entertainment and Comedy and former BAFTA chair said of Yentob: “It’s not hyperbole to describe Alan Yentob as a TV genius. His stewardship of BBC Two moved it from a rather fusty channel to one where the best creatives wanted to showcase their work.

"But, very unusually, he also proved he had an eye for the most popular when he was handed the reins at BBC One. I remember at the time attending a meeting of senior executives where he admitted: ‘I’m not to this manor born but if I can do it, you can all come along with me!’ His was a brilliant and instinctive skill.”

Lush recalled him as “an eccentric and sometimes haphazard character, once leaving a voicemail message for Paul McCartney on my phone…[I] will miss him hugely.”