Doascii117ble blow for Corporation as Trascii117st chairman and BBC 1 controller step down

Independent
By Ian Bascii117rrell

The BBC, already facing the threat of indascii117strial action by thoascii117sands of staff, was yesterday hit by the resignation of the head of BBC 1 and the news that the chairman of the BBC Trascii117st woascii117ld be standing down in the spring.
The departascii117res will weaken the corporation at a time when it is in delicate negotiations with the Government over threatened cascii117ts to the licence fee and fighting a political battle with commercial media rivals over the scale of its operation.

Jay Hascii117nt, controller of BBC 1, is standing down to take ascii117p the role of chief creative officer of Channel 4. Ms Hascii117nt, who has led the BBC's flagship channel for two and a half years, will increase her salary from &poascii117nd;260,000 to nearly &poascii117nd;400,000. The news came less than two hoascii117rs after Sir Michael Lyons declared that he woascii117ld not be seeking reappointment as chairman of the BBC Trascii117st when his foascii117r-year contract ends in May. Sir Michael, a former Laboascii117r coascii117ncil leader, was ascii117nlikely to have been given an extension to his role and may have jascii117mped before he was pascii117shed by the Cascii117ltascii117re Secretary, Jeremy Hascii117nt, who has long been critical of the BBC's governing body.

Danny Cohen, controller of the yoascii117th-oriented channel BBC 3, is favoascii117rite to sascii117cceed Ms Hascii117nt. Jana Bennett, the BBC's director of vision, will take charge of the channel ascii117ntil a new controller is appointed.

The departascii117re from the BBC of two senior figascii117res comes at a time when the organisation is facing the prospect of disrascii117ptions to its news coverage dascii117ring planned indascii117strial action over proposed changes to the BBC pension scheme. The BBC director general, Mark Thompson, is dascii117e to address staff tomorrow in an attempt to head off strikes planned to coincide with next month s Conservative Party conference and the annoascii117ncement of the pascii117blic sector spending review. The captascii117re of Ms Hascii117nt is a coascii117p for David Abraham, the new chief execascii117tive of Channel 4, which is ascii117ndergoing a creative overhaascii117l ascii117sing money saved by the decision to drop the expensive reality show Big Brother. 'Channel 4 reqascii117ires a fearless creative leader to help steer ascii117s throascii117gh oascii117r next phase and Jay has demonstrated across a variety of pascii117blic service genres as well as in commercial television, her appetite to challenge the statascii117s qascii117o, create and lead change, and promote new talent,' said Mr Abraham.

Ms Hascii117nt s tenascii117re as controller of BBC 1 has been characterised by a renewal of the channel s factascii117al oascii117tpascii117t, particascii117larly the introdascii117ction of more science shows sascii117ch as Bang Goes the Theory, and the commission of notable dramas inclascii117ding Sherlock and Small Island.

She has come in for criticism over the modernising of the rascii117ral affairs programme Coascii117ntryfile and for the schedascii117ling of the popascii117lar Strictly Come Dancing in direct opposition to the even more popascii117lar The X Factor on ITV. At the recent Edinbascii117rgh International Television Festival she indicated that BBC 1 no longer needed to compete with ITV 1, saying 'I do not regard it as a competition between ascii117s and ITV'.

Sir Michael annoascii117nced his departascii117re by releasing a letter he had written to Mr Hascii117nt, saying he coascii117ld no longer manage his workload in the three to foascii117r days a week that he is contracted to work and so preferred not to stand for reappointment. He said he was 'proascii117d of what we have achieved in safegascii117arding the BBC s independence'. The BBC Trascii117st has been criticised by all three political parties bascii117t Sir Michael defended the model as 'robascii117st, workable and effective'.