Alan Yentob, the previous BBC presenter and government, has died aged 78.
An announcement from his household, shared by the BBC, stated Yentob died on Saturday.
His spouse Philippa Walker stated: “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, humorous, annoying, late, and inventive in each cell of his physique. However greater than that, he was the kindest of males and a profoundly ethical man. He leaves in his wake a path of affection a mile extensive.”
Yentob joined the BBC as a trainee in 1968 and held numerous positions – together with controller of BBC One and BBC Two, director of tv, and head of music and artwork.
He was additionally the director of BBC drama, leisure, and kids’s TV.
Yentob launched CBBC and CBeebies, and his drama commissions included Delight And Prejudice and Middlemarch.
Picture:
Alan Yentob (left) with former BBC director basic Tony Corridor in 2012. Pic: Reuters.
The TV government was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the King in 2024 for providers to the humanities and media.
In a tribute, the BBC’s director-general Tim Davie stated: “Alan Yentob was a towering figure in British broadcasting and the arts. A creative force and a cultural visionary, he shaped decades of programming at the BBC and beyond, with a passion for storytelling and public service that leave a lasting legacy.
“Above all, Alan was a real authentic. His ardour wasn’t performative – it was private. He believed within the energy of tradition to complement, problem and join us.”
BBC Radio 4 presenter Amol Rajan described him on Instagram 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.
“I commend his spirit to the residing.”
