Lesley Douglas

Lesley Douglas
Born	1963 (age 60–61) Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Radio executive
Known for	Time as Controller of BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music

Lesley Douglas is a British radio executive. She was the Controller of BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music from early 2004 until her resignation in October 2008 over the Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row.

Early life

Lesley Douglas was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1963, where she grew up but as a child she went to see Sunderland A.F.C., her father's team, play at Roker Park and became hooked. A Bruce Springsteen fan with ambitions to be a journalist, she decided to study English at the University of Manchester to be closer to the vibrant 1980s Manchester scene. Showing nous in the music industry, Douglas was instrumental in the promotion of Manchester bands A Certain Ratio and The Fall.

BBC career

On graduation, Douglas joined at the BBC as a production assistant in 1986, and began at the David Jacobs Show, later joining the promotions department. In 1988, she worked as a producer on programmes such as the Gloria Hunniford Show and Brian Matthew's Round Midnight. In 1990, she returned to the Promotions department, then in 1993, she was promoted to be Editor of Radio 2 Presentation and Planning. She became Managing Editor of Radio 2, then became Head of Programmes in 2000.

Douglas was appointed Controller of both stations on October 10 2003 and began January 5 2004, succeeding James Moir. She oversaw Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley parting company with Radio 1 in April 2004 and joining her two networks later that year; the controversial appointment of Chris Evans as Drivetime presenter on April 18 2006; and appointing equally controversial Russell Brand to 6 Music in April 2006 and overseeing his move to Radio 2 in November 2006. A third move, to replace lunchtime host Jeremy Vine with opinionated talk show host, Jon Gaunt, was rejected by Mark Thompson.

She was a trustee of BBC Children in Need and sat on the Radio Times Advisory Panel.

Controversy

On 28 October 2008, Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross were suspended by the BBC, after they made a series of obscene phone calls to actor Andrew Sachs during The Russell Brand Show. Brand later resigned from the BBC. On 30 October 2008, Director General Mark Thompson met with the BBC Trust to discuss reaction to the incident, and Douglas's resignation was announced. On the same day, Jonathan Ross was suspended by the BBC without pay for 12 weeks.

Douglas had caused controversy earlier in 2008 with remarks, made in defence of the appointment of George Lamb to the 10:00-13:00 slot on 6Music, which were seen as pandering to outdated stereotypes. An article in The Guardian quoted her as saying:

"It’s partly how you talk about music. Men tend to be more interested in the intellectual side of the music, the tracks, where albums have been made, that sort of thing. For women, there tends to be more emotional reaction to music."

There were existing problems with her siding with another of her signings Russell Brand against a series of producers as revealed in an interview with Paul Gambaccini by Nicky Campbell on The Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 5Live.

NC: “I hear he had five or six producers and whenever one said no to him, he went and got him or her sacked?”
PG: “You heard accurately. And I do believe that if anyone had investigated this matter properly and as now Ofcom and the BBC will, they will find about a dozen items that will make their hair curl on end. I’m not kidding you.”

Awards

A fellow of the Radio Academy, Douglas was awarded the top prize at the Music Industry Woman Of The Year Awards in 2004, and a BASCA (British Association of Composers and Songwriters) Gold Badge in October 2006. Douglas has chaired the Radio Festival Steering Committee on two occasions, and is currently Vice Chair of the Radio Academy. Douglas was awarded an honorary fellowship from the University of Sunderland in 2007.

External links

• Biography of Lesley Douglas, courtesy of BBC Press Office
• Becomes Controller of Radio 2
• November 2005 Independent article

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