Entwistle Appointed Acting Head Of BBC Four

George Entwistle, head of BBC TV current affairs, has been announced as the acting controller of BBC Four for six months.

The current controller, Janice Hadlow, is taking a sabbatical to complete a book on George III. The BBC says that she will also be spending time “consulting on the wider BBC Vision strategy”.

Jana Bennett, Director of BBC Vision, said “I’m delighted that George is taking on the challenge of running the channel for a few months. Having commissioned both current affairs and arts programmes for BBC Four since its inception, George really understands the channel and I know he will steer it effectively and creatively through the next six months.

“Janice has done a fantastic job raising the profile of BBC Four over the past three years. When she came back to the BBC we agreed that when the time was right, she would take some time away from BBC Four to finish her book.

“Three years on, with the channel looking so confident, it is a good time to do this. I’m pleased that over the next six months she will still be involved in developing the wider strategy for BBC Vision and I look forward to her returning to BBC Four towards the end of the year.”

Janice Hadlow, BBC Four Controller, said: “I’m very grateful to Jana for allowing me to step back from running the channel for a while so that I can finish my book.”

Karen O’Connor will cover George Entwistle’s role as head and commissioning editor of TV current affairs. O’Connor is currently creative director of the in-house current affairs department.

BBC Four’s percentage of viewing share has shown a year on year rise, from 0.04% in February 2006 to 0.08% in February of this year.

BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk