Jonathan Leslie Powell (born 25 April 1947 in

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

) is an English former television producer and executive. His senior positions in television included serving as the Head of

BBC Drama BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom. As with any major broadcast network, drama forms an importan ...

Series and Serials and Controller of

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

. He later became a professor and head of department of Media Arts at

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic depa ...

Biography

Powell was educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governor ...

and the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

where he studied English literature. In 1968, he began working in television drama, producing programmes such as ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some either way offences and appeals lied to it by the magistrates' courts. It is one of three Senior Courts of England and W ...

''. Working for the BBC, he produced several drama series during the 1970s and 1980s, including literary adaptations such as ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas ...

'' (1977), ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent re ...

'' (1978), '' Testament of Youth'' (1979), ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'' (1980), '' The Barchester Chronicles'' (1982) and '' The Old Men at the Zoo'' (1983). He was also the producer of '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' (1979) and its sequel ''

Smiley's People ''Smiley's People'' is a spy novel by British writer John le Carré, published in 1979. Featuring British master-spy George Smiley, it is the third and final novel of the " Karla Trilogy", following ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' and '' The Hon ...

'' (1982), both starring

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1 ...

George Smiley George Smiley OBE is a fictional character created by John le Carré. Smiley is a career intelligence officer with "The Circus", the British overseas intelligence agency. He is a central character in the novels ''Call for the Dead'', ''A Mur ...

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

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

. He oversaw a period of change in BBC drama, with more original programmes being produced as well as classic adaptations, and more programmes being made on film rather than in the

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

studios on

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videoca ...

. While Powell was heading BBC drama series, the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

s ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' and '' Howards' Way'' were launched (both in 1985) and the medical drama '' Casualty'' (1986). In 1985, he and

controller

Michael Grade Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, (born 8 March 1943) is an English television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive of Channel 4 (1 ...

attempted to cancel ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

''. In common with Grade, Powell had a low opinion of the series and especially despised its producer,

John Nathan-Turner John Nathan-Turner (''né'' Turner; 12 August 1947 – 1 May 2002) was an English television producer. He was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. He was also the final producer of the series' firs ...

, who he later said he wanted to "fuck off... or die, really". 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 Peter Cregeen cancelled the programme. Powell was responsible for commissioning '' 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.Steven Barnett, Andrew Curry ''The Battle for the BBC''. Aurum Press, 1994, p. 167 He remained channel controller until 1993, when he left the BBC to join the independent company

Carlton Television Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Tele ...

as Director of Drama and Co-Production. After he retired from television, Powell became Head of the Department of Media Arts at

."Professor. Jonathan Powell - Research"
''Royal Holloway, University of London''. Retrieved 25 May 2013.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Jonathan 1947 births Alumni of the University of East Anglia BBC executives BBC One controllers BBC television producers English television producers Living people People educated at Sherborne School People from Sittingbourne