New senior role for Glenwyn Benson

Glenwyn Benson, Controller, Knowledge Commissioning, is to take up a new senior role within the BBC’s Policy and Strategy division.



Working with Caroline Thomson, Chief Operating Officer, and Robin Foster, Project Adviser, she will be the creative lead in the team which will shape the BBC’s response to Ofcom’s review of Public Service Broadcasting which is currently underway.



In particular she will concentrate on key issues such as the crucial role that the BBC plays in the UK’s creative industries, development of the UK talent pool and the part the BBC plays in offering viewers genuine range and diversity for TV, radio and interactive media.



Announcing the appointment, BBC Director-General Mark Thompson said Glenwyn’s contribution will be a critical one.



"Glenwyn’s passion for creativity and her wide-ranging experience of programme making and management make her the ideal person for this role.



“She is one of the BBC’s most respected creative leaders and I believe she is best placed to articulate the critical role of the BBC within public service broadcasting,” he said.



Caroline Thomson said she is absolutely delighted to be bringing on board a programme maker of such stature to a critical project for the BBC.



“I know Glenwyn will make a wonderful contribution and I’m greatly looking forward to working with her,” she said.



Director of BBC Vision, Jana Bennett, said Glenwyn has “total commitment” to public service broadcasting.



"“In all her various roles at the BBC, Glenwyn has shown a total commitment to public service broadcasting, always imparting knowledge and understanding of our world to the broadest possible audiences.



“I know she will continue to be a huge driving force within the BBC and I will not be alone when I say that we in Vision will miss her hugely,” she said.



Glenwyn Benson says she is looking forward to a new challenge: “Leaving BBC Vision – and working alongside hugely talented programme makers within it in particular – was a very tough decision, but I believe my new role will allow me to ensure that the BBC effectively articulates the vital contribution it can make to public service broadcasting in the UK, both now, and in the years to come, for the benefit of all our audiences.”



Glenwyn Benson became Controller, Knowledge in October 2006 as part of the newly-created BBC Vision structure.



Prior to that, since 2003, she had been Controller, Factual Television.



She began her career in broadcasting at London Weekend Television and became Deputy Editor of current affairs programme Weekend World before joining the BBC as Editor of On The Record.



In 1992 she was appointed Editor of Panorama where she spent three years before taking charge of the BBC’s adult education programming.



In December 1997 Glenwyn became Head of Science, responsible for the largest bi-media science production house in the world, whose titles included strands and programmes like Horizon, Tomorrow’s World, QED, Animal Hospital, The Human Body, Earth Story, and BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service science programmes.



In October 2000 Glenwyn became Controller, Specialist Factual in the BBC’s new Factual and Learning division with overall responsibility for Science, Natural History, Arts, Business, Religion & Ethics and History output.



From March 2001, Glenwyn was Joint Director, BBC Factual & Learning and was a member of the BBC’s Executive Committee until taking up the appointment of Controller, Factual Television in 2003.