Charles Derek Chinnery (27 April 1925 – 22 March 2015) was the controller of

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

from 1978 to 1985.

Early life and career

Chinnery was born in

Richmond, London Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commiss ...

, and attended Gosforth Grammar School. He joined the BBC in 1941 aged 16. From 1943 to 1947 he was in the RAF. He returned to the BBC in 1947, becoming a producer in 1952.

BBC Radio 1 controller

He took over from Charles McLelland and was succeeded by Johnny Beerling."Friends pay tribute to ex-Radio 1 boss"
''Ariel'', 24 March 2015 He relaxed the guidelines on banning records, allowing records to mention a commercial product, and ended the '' Sounds of the Seventies'' programme. Chinnery admitted that while he was controller he confronted

Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well known ...

over allegations of inappropriate sexual activities, which Savile denied; Chinnery said "there was no reason to disbelieve" him. Chinnery took no further action, saying: "He was the sort of man that attracted rumours, after all, because he was single, he was always on the move, he was always going around the country."

Personal life

Chinnery married Doreen Clarke in 1953 in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

External links

Radio Rewind

Interview recorded in 1983
(4 parts) for British Library's Oral History of Recorded Sound

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinnery, Derek 1925 births 2015 deaths People from Gosforth BBC Radio 1 controllers BBC radio producers Jimmy Savile People educated at Gosforth Academy Place of death missing 20th-century British businesspeople