Alan Yentob: Influential BBC executive undone by Kids Company scandal
The former creative director of the BBC was also known for presenting regular arts series Imagine.
Alan Yentob, who has died aged 78, was an influential BBC executive who steered the creative vision of the corporation before controversy led to him stepping down from his role.
Born in London on March 11 1947, to an Iraqi-Jewish family, Yentob was sent to board at a cathedral school in Cambridgeshire as a young boy before studying law at the University of Leeds.
He joined the BBC in 1968 as a trainee at the World Service where he worked his way through the ranks to become the corporation’s head of music and arts in 1985.
In 1987 he was promoted to controller of BBC2 where he revitalised the channel by commissioning hugely successful shows such as Absolutely Fabulous, starring Jennifer Saunders and Dame Joanna Lumley, arts series The Late Show and comedy quiz show, Have I Got News For You.
In 1993 he became the official controller of BBC1. His drama commissions ranged from Middlemarch and Pride And Prejudice – which made actor Colin Firth a heartthrob – to Ballykissangel, while wielding an axe to the failing Spain-set soap Eldorado.
He also presented shows for the BBC, including a series on the life of artist Leonardo da Vinci, starring Sir Mark Rylance, and a regular arts series, Imagine, from 2003.
Artist Marina Abramovic, novelist Bernardine Evaristo and Oscar-winning actor Marlon Brando were among the famous faces who had episodes devoted to their lives and careers.
Yentob was appointed creative director, to oversee the BBC’s creative strategy, in 2004 and he also served as chairman of the board of trustees for Kids Company, founded by Camila Batmanghelidjh, from 2003 until the collapse of the charity in 2015.
Yentob faced scrutiny over his role as well as claims he tried to influence coverage at the corporation of its troubles.
He always insisted there was no conflict of interest in his decision to call Newsnight about its investigation into Kids Company and had not “abused my position at the BBC”.
He is said to have phoned the BBC Two programme in July 2015 as it prepared to broadcast a report suggesting the government would withhold further funding unless its founder, Ms Batmanghelidjh, stood down.
The charity folded on August 5 2015 just six days after receiving a £3 million grant in a final bid to keep it afloat.
In December that year Yentob stepped down from his job at the BBC, saying the speculation over his conduct had been “proving a serious distraction”.
Also in 2015, Yentob was awarded £85,000 in phone-hacking damages from Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).
In spite of the Kids Company controversy, he continued to present programmes for the BBC, interviewing figures including Sir Stephen Fry and Bob Geldof.
In a BBC Two programme in 2024 he spoke to author Sir Salman Rushdie about the devastating effects of the onstage knife attack that left him blind in one eye.
Yentob was married to TV producer Philippa Walker and the couple had two children together.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters from De Montfort University, Leicester, in 2005 and in 2024 he was formally made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the King for services to the arts and media.
