Will Wyatt
Encyclopedia
Will Wyatt is a British
media consultant and company director, formerly a journalist, television producer and senior executive at the BBC
. His career began in 1964 as a trainee journalist on the Sheffield Telegraph
newspaper, before moving to the BBC in 1965 as a sub-editor in BBC radio
news. In 1968 he moved to BBC Television
, working for the Presentation Department as producer of Points of View
, The Fifties and Storyteller, before joining the daily arts and media programme Late Night Line-Up
He then originated and edited Edition, presented by Kenneth Alsop, The Book Programme with Robert Robinson and Don't Quote Me. He produced a number of documentaries including All the Buildings Fit to Print about Nikolaus Pevsner
and was executive producer of They've Shot Kennedy, Good Night and Good Luck and The Scars of Autumn. He produced B.Traven: A Mystery Solved and wrote a real life literary detective story The Man Who Was B.Traven. (Cape, 1980)
By 1978 he had was Assistant Head of the Presentation Department, whose output included The Old Grey Whistle Test, The Hollywood Greats
and Barry Norman
's Film...
programme. From 1981 to 1988 he was Head of Documentary Features, starting Forty Minutes, Crimewatch
, Food and Drink
and Around the World in Eighty Days
with Michael Palin
.
In 1988 he was made Assistant Managing Director of BBC Television, and in 1991 full Managing Director of BBC Network Television. He remained in that position for five years, before he became Chief Executive of BBC Broadcast in 1996, responsible for all BBC broadcasting in the UK on radio and television other than news. During this time he oversaw the launch of BBC Online
, the creation of the BBC's partnership in UKTV
and BBC America
.
He was also deputy to the Director-General John Birt.
He retired from the BBC at the end of 1999, becoming chairman of the London Institute, leading it to become the University of the Arts London. He was awarded the CBE in 2000 and was President of the Royal television Society from 2000 to 2004. From 2002-7 he was Chairman of Human Capital Limited, a media strategy and research consultancy. His book wabout the BBC, The Fun Factory - A Life in the BBC was published by Aurum Press in 2003.
In 2007 he produced the Wyatt Report, an investigation into clips from A Year With the Queen being shown to journalists which apparently showed the Queen
storming out of a session with American photographer Annie Leibovitz
. The BBC subsequently admitted that the scenes used in the trailer had been edited out of sequence, leading to the resignation of RDF's Chief Creative Officer Stephen Lambert
, BBC One
Controller Peter Fincham
, and Fincham's Head of Publicity, Jane Fletcher, following the report's publication on October 5.
Wyatt was a director of Coral Eurobet from 2001-3 and also served on the British Horseracing Board's commission into the conditions of stable and stud staff. He is currently chairman of Racecourse Media Group, the umbrella organisation for thirty racecourses, which operates the Racing UK television channel and manages their interest in the Turf TV service to betting shops, and a director of Vitec Group plc.
He is also chairman of the Teaching Awards Trust and a trustee of the Services Sound and Vision Corporation.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
media consultant and company director, formerly a journalist, television producer and senior executive at the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. His career began in 1964 as a trainee journalist on the Sheffield Telegraph
Sheffield Telegraph
The Sheffield Telegraph is a weekly newspaper published in Sheffield, England.-History:Founded in 1855 as the Sheffield Daily Telegraph, it was the city's first daily newspaper, published at 08:00 each morning. The newspaper struggled until W. C...
newspaper, before moving to the BBC in 1965 as a sub-editor in BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
news. In 1968 he moved to BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
, working for the Presentation Department as producer of Points of View
Points of View
Points of View is a long-running television show shown in the United Kingdom on BBC One, featuring the letters of viewers offering praise, criticism and purportedly witty observations on the television of recent weeks...
, The Fifties and Storyteller, before joining the daily arts and media programme Late Night Line-Up
Late Night Line-Up
Late Night Line-Up was a pioneering British television discussion programme broadcast on BBC2 between 1964 and 1972. Late Night Line-Up returned for a special one-off edition on BBC Parliament in 2008.-Background:...
He then originated and edited Edition, presented by Kenneth Alsop, The Book Programme with Robert Robinson and Don't Quote Me. He produced a number of documentaries including All the Buildings Fit to Print about Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
and was executive producer of They've Shot Kennedy, Good Night and Good Luck and The Scars of Autumn. He produced B.Traven: A Mystery Solved and wrote a real life literary detective story The Man Who Was B.Traven. (Cape, 1980)
By 1978 he had was Assistant Head of the Presentation Department, whose output included The Old Grey Whistle Test, The Hollywood Greats
The Hollywood Greats
Hollywood Greats was a BBC Television series, which began in 1977. The film critic Barry Norman wrote and narrated a series of in depth profiles on major Hollywood film personalities, in which he interviewed surviving associates. He later made a series called British Greats in 1980...
and Barry Norman
Barry Norman
Barry Leslie Norman, CBE is a British novelist, impresario, film critic and media personality. He was the BBC film critic on television from 1972 to 1998.-Early life:...
's Film...
The Film programme
The Film programme is a British film review television programme, broadcast weekly on BBC One, presented by Claudia Winkleman and Danny Leigh. The title of the show changes each year to incorporate the year of broadcast, with the current series being Film 2011, but when referring to successive...
programme. From 1981 to 1988 he was Head of Documentary Features, starting Forty Minutes, Crimewatch
Crimewatch
Crimewatch is a long-running and high-profile British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes with a view to gaining information from the members of the public. The programme is usually broadcast once a month on BBC One...
, Food and Drink
Food and Drink
Food and Drink was a long-running British television series on BBC Two between 1982 and 2001. It was the first national television programme in the UK to cover the subject of food and drink without cookery and recipe demonstrations....
and Around the World in Eighty Days
Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days
Around the World in 80 Days is a BBC television travel series first broadcast in 1989. It was presented by comedian and actor Michael Palin. The show was inspired by Jules Verne's classic novel Around the World in Eighty Days, in which a character named Phileas Fogg accepts a wager to...
with Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
.
In 1988 he was made Assistant Managing Director of BBC Television, and in 1991 full Managing Director of BBC Network Television. He remained in that position for five years, before he became Chief Executive of BBC Broadcast in 1996, responsible for all BBC broadcasting in the UK on radio and television other than news. During this time he oversaw the launch of BBC Online
Bbc.co.uk
BBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
, the creation of the BBC's partnership in UKTV
UKTV
UKTV is a digital cable and satellite television network, formed through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, a commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Scripps Networks Interactive, spun off from The E.W Scripps Company in 2008...
and BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
.
He was also deputy to the Director-General John Birt.
He retired from the BBC at the end of 1999, becoming chairman of the London Institute, leading it to become the University of the Arts London. He was awarded the CBE in 2000 and was President of the Royal television Society from 2000 to 2004. From 2002-7 he was Chairman of Human Capital Limited, a media strategy and research consultancy. His book wabout the BBC, The Fun Factory - A Life in the BBC was published by Aurum Press in 2003.
In 2007 he produced the Wyatt Report, an investigation into clips from A Year With the Queen being shown to journalists which apparently showed the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
storming out of a session with American photographer Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz
Anna-Lou "Annie" Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer.-Early life and education:Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is the third of six children. She is a third-generation American whose great-grandparents were Jewish immigrants, from Central and Eastern Europe. Her father's...
. The BBC subsequently admitted that the scenes used in the trailer had been edited out of sequence, leading to the resignation of RDF's Chief Creative Officer Stephen Lambert
Stephen Lambert (media executive)
Stephen Lambert is an English television producer and executive. He is best known for creating and launching international hit formats such as the award-winning Wife Swap, Faking It, Secret Millionaire, and Undercover Boss...
, BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
Controller Peter Fincham
Peter Fincham
Peter Fincham is a British television producer and executive, currently the Director of Television for the ITV network. He was also formerly the Controller of BBC One, the primary television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation, until his resignation on 5 October 2007, following...
, and Fincham's Head of Publicity, Jane Fletcher, following the report's publication on October 5.
Wyatt was a director of Coral Eurobet from 2001-3 and also served on the British Horseracing Board's commission into the conditions of stable and stud staff. He is currently chairman of Racecourse Media Group, the umbrella organisation for thirty racecourses, which operates the Racing UK television channel and manages their interest in the Turf TV service to betting shops, and a director of Vitec Group plc.
He is also chairman of the Teaching Awards Trust and a trustee of the Services Sound and Vision Corporation.
External links
- Will Wyatt at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
. - ZoomInfo web summary.
- Review of his autobiography from New Statesman.