Charles Derek Chinnery (27 April 1925 – 22 March 2015) was the controller of BBC Radio 1 from 1978 to 1985.

Early life and career

Chinnery was born in Richmond, London, and attended Gosforth Grammar School. He joined the BBC in 1941 aged 16. From 1943 to 1947 he was in the Royal Air Force, 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 70s, Sounds of the Seventies'' programme. Chinnery admitted that while he was controller he confronted Jimmy Savile 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.

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