British Jewish broadcaster and former BBC executive Alan Yentob died aged 78 on Saturday, his family announced.
Born to an Iraqi Jewish family in London, Yentob built a career as a presenter, later serving as the BBC One and the BBC Two controller. He was also the broadcasting company’s creative director until 2015.
Further, Yentob launched television channels CBBC and CBeebies, and is credited with commissioning famous British BBC TV programs such as Absolutely Fabulous and Have I Got News for You.
He was the chairman and trustee of the charity Kids Company until 2015, when it shut down following controversy.
BBC director-general Tim Davie said, “Alan Yentob was a towering figure in British broadcasting and the arts. A creative force and a cultural visionary, he shaped decades of programming at the BBC and beyond, with a passion for storytelling and public service that leaves a lasting legacy.”
'A towering force of British TV entertainment'
Michael Wood, a former live TV director at BBC News, said, “his fingerprints are all over the last 50 years of television broadcasting.”
“Alan was a hugely inspirational, towering force of British TV entertainment who I am very grateful to have met,” Wood added.
Philippa Walker, Yentob’s wife, said, “For Jacob, Bella, and I, every day with Alan held the promise of something unexpected. Our life was exciting; he was exciting.
“He was curious, funny, annoying, late, and creative in every cell of his body. But more than that, he was the kindest of men and a profoundly moral man. He leaves in his wake a trail of love a mile wide,” she said.