Jonathan Powell (producer)

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For other people with the same name, see Jonathan Powell (disambiguation).
Jonathan Powell
Born
Jonathan Leslie Powell

(1947-04-25) 25 April 1947 (age 77)
Sittingbourne, Kent, England
EducationSherborne School
Alma materUniversity of East Anglia
Occupation(s)Television producer, television executive, professor
Years active1968–present
TitleBBC Television Head of Drama (1985–1987)
Controller of BBC1 (1987–1993)

Jonathan Leslie Powell (born 25 April 1947 in Sittingbourne, Kent) is an English former television producer and executive. His senior positions in television included serving as the Head of BBC Drama Series and Serials and Controller of BBC1. He later became a professor and head of department of Media Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London.[1]

Biography

Powell was educated at

Smiley's People (1982), both starring Alec Guinness as George Smiley.[4][5]

In late 1983, he was made Head of Drama Series and Serials at

BBC TV studios on videotape. While Powell was heading BBC drama series, the soap operas EastEnders and Howards' Way were launched (both in 1985) and the medical drama Casualty (1986). In 1985, he and BBC1 controller Michael Grade attempted to cancel Doctor Who. In common with Grade, Powell had a low opinion of the series[6] and especially despised its producer, John Nathan-Turner, who he later said he wanted to "fuck off... or die, really".[7]
After an outcry from the series' fans and a tabloid campaign, this decision became an 18-month hiatus instead.

His most prominent television post came in 1987 when he succeeded Grade as the Controller of BBC1. While he was Controller, Doctor Who came to the end of its first run in 1989, although Head of Series

Eldorado, a new soap opera that debuted in 1992. It lasted only a year, becoming critically and popularly regarded as a costly fiasco and an embarrassment for the BBC.[9] He remained channel controller until 1993, when he left the BBC to join the independent company Carlton Television
as Director of Drama and Co-Production.

After he retired from television, Powell became Head of the Department of Media Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Professor. Jonathan Powell - Research", Royal Holloway, University of London. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  2. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Crown Court (1972-84) Credits". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  3. ^ "Jonathan Powell". BFI. Archived from the original on 19 June 2016.
  4. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  5. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Smiley's People (1982)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  6. ISBN 9781326315863
    . Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  7. ^ Matthew Sweet "JN-T: The Life and Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner by Richard Marson – review", The Guardian (website), 22 March 2013
  8. ISBN 9781770411661
    . Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  9. ISBN 1854102850

External links
Media offices
Preceded by BBC Television Head of Drama
1985–1987 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Controller of
BBC1

1987–1992 		Succeeded by
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