George Entwistle was the 15th and shortest-serving Director-General of the BBC, who took over from Mark Thompson on 18 September 2012. However, in the wake of the Jimmy Savile paedophelia scandal, he was forced to resign on 10 November 2012. Even the act of resignation was controversial as he was offered £450,000 severance, which was equivalent to a full year's salary.[1]
Entwistle's potential
On acceding to the position, he immediately told his staff that Doctor Who was one of the "major pieces of BBC content" seen around the world.
The main goal he outlined for his administration was a desire to bring "improved levels of collaboration, common values and purpose" between the homegrown, licence fee-paid service of the British Broadcasting Corporation and the "burgeoning success" of the Corporation's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide.[2]
A fan of the way the BBC's coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games had seemingly United the Kingdom, he immediately ordered that all of the BBC — which presumably included the BBC Wales team producing Doctor Who — should use that event as a model for future content.[3]
The Independent quickly reported that his love of television drama derived from watching Doctor Who in his youth. The newspaper quoted him as saying, "Jon Pertwee was my Doctor. I was a bit sceptical about the Tom Baker regeneration."[4]
Downfall
As of November 2012[update], it was unclear whether Entwistle had been on the job long enough to actually affect anything having to do with the production of Doctor Who.
All that was clear was that he was forced to resign because the BBC's investigative news magazine, Newsnight, had, in the wake of the Savile allegations made by ITV, falsely accused a Thatcher-era Conservative Party politician of child abuse. What was described as "shoddy reporting" left the Corporation liable to the falsely-accused party for substantial sums of money.[5] In the immediate aftermath of Entwistle's departure, the BBC was seen by media journalists to have taken a serious hit, with some conservatives seeing even less value for money in the licence fee.[6]
The impact on scripted drama, and Doctor Who's 2013 anniversary year in particular, wasn't immediately known.
Footnotes
- ↑ Barr, Robert. "George Entwistle, Ex-BBC Chief, to Receive $750,000 payout". The Huffington Post. 12 November 2012.
- ↑ Entwistle, George. "Speech to BBC staff". Broadcasting House, London. 18 September 2012
- ↑ "BBC must deliver world-class creativity, says new Director-General" BBC Media Centre. 18 September 2012.
- ↑ Preston, Ben. "George Entwistle: The new man at the BBC. The Independent. 19 September 2012.
- ↑ Sonne, Paul and Cassell Bryan-Low. "BBC Chief George Entwistle Quits Over Scandal". Wall Street Journal. 11 November 2012.
- ↑ "BBC must reform or face uncertain future, says chairman" CNBC. 11 November 2012.