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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. Lesley was born in Newcastle in 1963 and gained a
degree in English at Manchester University.
From the BBC, 30 Oct 2008
The controller of Radio 2, Lesley Douglas, has resigned over the
lewd calls row involving Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross.
Here is her resignation letter to BBC director general Mark Thomson
in full.
Dear Mark,
The last week has been a painful one for the BBC and particularly for
BBC Radio 2.
It is with enormous regret that I have decided to resign as controller
of BBC Radio 2, BBC 6 Music and of Popular Music.
This is my decision alone.
Over the 23 years of my career at the BBC I have enjoyed a deep love
and respect for both the audience and the BBC.
The events of the last two weeks happened on my watch. I believe it is
right that I take responsibility for what has happened.
It is a matter of the greatest possible sadness to me that a programme
on my network has been the cause of such a controversy.
I would like to take this opportunity to offer my personal apology to
Andrew Sachs and his family and to the audience for what has happened.
It has been a huge privilege to have been entrusted with the leadership
of the UK's most popular radio station, which is so intensely loved by the
audience.
I have also had the tremendous pleasure of launching BBC 6 Music and
more recently of leading popular music output across the BBC.
I know I leave BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music in the hands of a dedicated and
passionate team of incredibly talented presenters and production staff.
I am enormously proud of what we have achieved together.
Yours ever,
Lesley Douglas
Profile by The Guardian
30 October 2008
The key to Radio 2 controller Lesley Douglas is that she never craved a
high public profile, despite running Britain's most popular national radio
network for five years.
At Radio 2, Douglas, 45, was its puppet master, ultimately responsible
for its music strategy, selecting the presenters, including Russell Brand,
and appointing backroom producers and executives, including those who
nodded through the broadcast of the phone prank played on Andrew Sachs.
One question still unanswered after her resignation letter was whether
she was consulted about the infamous broadcast before it aired.
Douglas, married to another BBC staffer and with two school-age
children, was forced to break her half-term holiday this week and commute
into Broadcasting House from Pinner, outer London, to take charge of her
sternest editorial challenge since becoming controller in 2003.
Until this week it has been a career of steady advancement for Douglas,
who combined Radio 2 with running BBC 6Radio, the niche digital channel.
In 2007 she was promoted and made controller of popular music across the
BBC.
Douglas has never put her head above the parapet, sought out or courted
the press, and always seems most at ease with other BBC radio people, with
producers, and the talent, who, naturally, like her focus on them.
Her most public speeches are directed at industry radio conferences -
there are no memorable quotes or thoughts about the medium attributed to
her.
What drives her is a devotion to popular music of all kinds, although
she is teased about her absolute favourite - Bruce Springsteen.
Douglas was born in Newcastle and studied English at Manchester
University, before joining the BBC as a production assistant in 1986. The
BBC, in short, was her life. She rose through the ranks of Radio 2 to
become head of programmes in 2000.
The key to her success and power was her alliance with the previous
controller, Jim Moir. Together they set out to modernise Radio 2,
reasoning that as Radio 1 shed its "Smashie and Nicey" middle-of-the-road
image to target youth in the 1990s, Radio 2 had to move and scoop up
disenfranchised adults aged in their late thirties and above.
Jeremy Vine replaced Jimmy Young, Mark Lamarr was welcomed, though
Terry Wogan remained the most loved presenter and Ken Bruce and Sarah
Kennedy maintained their prominent time slots.
Another newish face was Chris Evans, to whom Douglas controversially
handed the Johnnie Walker drive time slot in 2006.
Jonathan Ross, at the start of a new upward career trajectory, was
recruited to gee up Saturday mornings in 1999, though lapses in taste and
language have been an issue.
Meanwhile, Russell Brand joined 6 Music in April 2006, and was promoted
swiftly to the main network. You could see either as an odd choice or an
inspired piece of experimentation.
Douglas knew he was an edgy and challenging star, ensuring most of his
programmes were pre-recorded.
Throughout, Radio 2 continued to attract almost 13 million people each
week, who listen for an average twelve hours, way ahead of Radio 1 and
Radio 4.
The secret of Douglas's success was combining those very different
presenters while broadcasting a huge range of music including jazz, soul,
choral, folk, big band and gospel, until the fatal combination of two
stars egging each other on in a ghastly prank ended her career.
From the BBC website, October
2003
 Lesley Douglas has been chosen to succeed Jim Moir as
Controller, BBC Radio 2.
She will take
over the role of running the UK's most listened to radio station at the
beginning of January 2004.
Lesley,
aged 40, who was born in Newcastle, will also be responsible for the BBC's
new digital music station BBC 6 Music.
She is
currently Head of Programmes at Radio 2 and deputy to Controller, Jim Moir
CBE, LVO.
Lesley
says: "I'm absolutely thrilled.
"Radio
2 is a wonderful station that is passionate about its listeners and music
and I'm glad that I've been involved in its evolution over the past few
years.
"Taking
over the controllership is a huge responsibility but immensely exciting
with the bonus of having the chance to develop BBC 6 Music into a mature
digital radio station.
"There
can't be a better job in broadcasting."
Jenny
Abramsky, Director of BBC Radio & Music, says: "Lesley Douglas
has played a major role working alongside Jim Moir in making Radio 2 the
phenomenal success it is today.
"She
is absolutely the right person to take the network forward, cherishing its
combination of a broad range of quality music output with a variety of
current affairs, comedy, arts and religious programming."
Lesley was
appointed Head of Programmes in spring 2000.
She started
her career in the BBC as a Production Assistant, first in a research
department then moving in 1985 to the David Jacobs show.
In 1988 she
became a Producer in the Music Department working on programmes such as
the Gloria Hunniford, David Jacobs and Ken Bruce shows as well as Brian
Matthew's Round Midnight and The Pleasure's Yours on the BBC World
Service.
Lesley
returned to Promotions in 1990, this time as a Producer, and was promoted
to Editor, Radio 2 Presentation and Planning in 1993.
In May 1997
she became Managing Editor, BBC Radio 2.
Lesley is a
Fellow of the Radio Academy and has chaired the Radio Festival Steering
Committee on two occasions.
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