Five Executive Tapped to Lead BBC One

LONDON, December 3: Five’s director of programs, Jay Hunt, has been named as the new controller of BBC One, succeeding Peter Fincham, who stepped down in October.

Hunt joined Five this year after serving as the controller of daytime and early peak at the BBC, with responsibility for all output on BBC One and Two during the day. She was a member of the senior management team in BBC Vision, determining commissioning and portfolio strategy for TV and multiplatform services. She joined the BBC in 1989 as a researcher on Breakfast News and worked her way up to output editor before joining Newsnight, where she stayed until 1998. She then moved to Panorama as a senior producer, becoming editor of the One O’Clock News and then the Six O’Clock News. She joined the daytime team in 2002 as executive producer before becoming senior commissioning executive for daytime in 2003. She takes up her new post sometime next year.

Announcing the appointment, Jana Bennett, the director of BBC Vision, said: "I am really pleased to welcome Jay back to the BBC to take up the reins of the U.K.’s most popular channel and the BBC’s flagship channel. She has impeccable credentials as a commissioner, channel leader and journalist and has a deep commitment to the BBC’s mission to bring the best programs to the widest audience. I am sure she will be greeted with huge enthusiasm by program makers inside and outside the BBC, BBC Vision and the BBC One team."

Commenting on her appointment, Hunt said: "Controller of BBC One has always been my dream job. Ultimately, I could not resist the opportunity to take on such a creatively exciting role. I am thrilled to be part of the channel’s future. It has been an incredibly difficult decision to leave my talented team at Five but I could not turn down the best job in television."

—By Mansha Daswani