Former BBC executive and television presenter Alan Yentob has died aged 78, his family has confirmed.
Yentob began his long association with the BBC as a trainee in 1968. Over nearly six decades, he held several senior roles including controller of both BBC One and BBC Two, head of music and arts, director of drama, entertainment and children’s programming, and ultimately BBC’s director of television. His family said he died on Saturday 24 May.
In a tribute shared via the BBC, his wife Philippa Walker said: “For Jacob, Bella and I, every day with Alan held the promise of something unexpected. Our life was exciting – he was exciting. He was curious, funny, annoying, late and creative in every cell of his body. But more than that, he was the kindest of men and a profoundly moral man. He leaves in his wake a trail of love a mile wide.”
Yentob was widely credited with revitalising BBC Two during his leadership, commissioning programmes such as sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, starring Jennifer Saunders and Dame Joanna Lumley, alongside The Late Show and Have I Got News For You, which later transitioned to BBC One. He was also instrumental in launching children’s channels CBBC and CBeebies.
Among his drama commissions were acclaimed adaptations of Middlemarch and Pride and Prejudice – the latter propelling Colin Firth to heartthrob status – along with Ballykissangel. In 1993, he was behind the axing of the ill-fated soap opera Eldorado. In 2003, Yentob began presenting the arts documentary series Imagine, which further cemented his reputation as a passionate advocate for the arts.
In 2015, he stepped down as BBC creative director, citing his involvement with the charity Kids Company as a significant distraction. Yentob, who chaired the charity’s board of trustees, faced scrutiny over his role and was accused of attempting to influence the BBC’s news coverage of the organisation’s collapse. He denied any conflict of interest, insisting he had not abused his position.
BBC Director-General Tim Davie paid tribute, saying: “Alan Yentob was a towering figure in British broadcasting and the arts – a creative force and cultural visionary. He shaped decades of BBC programming with a passion for storytelling and public service that leaves a lasting legacy.
“For nearly 60 years, Alan championed originality, risk-taking and artistic ambition. From Arena to Imagine, from commissioning ground-breaking drama to giving emerging voices a platform, his influence is woven into the fabric of British cultural life.”
Davie added: “To work with Alan was to be inspired and encouraged to think bigger. He had a rare gift for identifying talent and lifting others up – a mentor and champion to so many across the worlds of television, film and theatre. He believed profoundly in the BBC’s role as a home for creativity, curiosity and the arts – accessible to all.
“We have lost one of the great creative spirits of our time. But his programmes, his voice and the generations he inspired will live on. Alan will be hugely missed – as a friend, colleague and one of the defining figures in the story of British culture.”
Yentob was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters by De Montfort University in 2005 and received a CBE in 2024 for his services to media and the arts.
Tributes have poured in from across the industry. BBC Radio 4 presenter Amol Rajan remembered him as “such a unique and kind man: an improbable impresario from unlikely origins who became a towering figure in the culture of post-war Britain. His shows were brilliant, often masterpieces, sometimes seminal. In private, he was magnetic, zealous, and very funny, with a mesmerising voice and mischievous chuckle.”
BBC veteran John Simpson wrote: “Very sad to hear that my good friend Alan Yentob has died. He was such good company, and a wonderful interviewer and documentary maker. I shall miss him greatly.”
ITV News political editor Robert Peston added: “To have been so influential for so long at the BBC, through its many travails and changes of personnel, was quite remarkable, with no modern precedent. Sincere condolences to his family.”
Alan Yentob leaves behind a deep and enduring mark on British broadcasting and the cultural landscape.
