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: Jacqueline Leigh "Jay" Hunt (born 20 January 1967) is an Australian-born
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
television executive working as Creative Director, Worldwide Video, Europe for
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
. From early 2011 until June 2017, Hunt was the Chief Creative Officer of
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
. She has previously served as Director of Programmes at Channel 5, and as Controller of
BBC One 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, ...
. She is the only person to have led all three channels. Under her leadership, Channel 4 was named Channel of the Year at the 2014
Edinburgh International Television Festival The Edinburgh International Television Festival is an annual media event held in the United Kingdom each August which brings together delegates from the television and digital world to debate the major issues facing the industry. The Festival ...
and '' Broadcast'' magazine's Channel of the Year in 2016.


Early life

Hunt was born in Sydney, Australia, and lived in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
and
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
before moving permanently to London at age 15. Hunt's father John was Emeritus Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the
London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degrees in management and finance, MBA and PhD). Its motto is " ...
. Her sister is innovator and former Government policy advisor Kristina Murrin. Her brother Simon Hunt served as CEO of William Grant & Sons from 2016 to 2020. Hunt was educated at the independent Lady Eleanor Holles School in
Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...
, West
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, followed by St John's College at the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
, where she read English.


Career

Hunt joined the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 1989 as a researcher, working on the BBC's '' Breakfast News''. She worked on ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'' and '' Panorama'', subsequently becoming editor of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's '' One O'Clock News'' and, in 1999, the '' Six O'Clock News''. She led outside broadcast teams to cover the handover of Hong Kong to China and the first multiracial elections in South Africa. Hunt became
BBC Birmingham BBC Birmingham is one of the oldest regional arms of the BBC, located in Birmingham. It was the first region outside London to start broadcasting both the corporation's radio (in 1922) and television (in 1949) transmissions, the latter from th ...
's Executive Producer for Daytime in 2002, being promoted to Senior Commissioning Executive for Daytime in 2003 and then Controller of BBC Daytime and Early Peak with responsibility for programming across both
BBC One 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, ...
and BBC Two between 9am and 7pm. In this role, she commissioned ''Great British Menu'', ''Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is'', ''The Heirhunters'', and ''Missing''. Hunt left the BBC for eight months in 2007, to replace Dan Chambers as Controller of Programmes for Five, and hired
Natasha Kaplinsky Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky (born 9 September 1972)The Donor, News and information for blood donors, Winter 2009, National Blood Service, England, page 55 is an English newsreader, TV presenter and journalist, best known for her roles as a st ...
from the BBC shortly afterwards. At Five, she commissioned ''Cowboy Builders'', ''Extreme Fishing with Robson Green'', ''Police Interceptors'', ''Breaking into Tesco'' and ''Britain's Best Home''. On 3 December 2007, it was announced that she would be returning to the BBC to take up the vacant post of Controller of
BBC One 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, ...
in early 2008, replacing the resigning
Peter Fincham Peter Arthur Fincham (born 26 July 1956) is a British television producer and executive. From 2008 until 2016, he was the Director of Television for the ITV network. He was also formerly the Controller of BBC One, the primary television channe ...
following criticism over the handling of '' A Year with the Queen''. She worked her notice at five until April 2008 before returning to the BBC as Controller of BBC One. In 2009, Hunt was accused of a conflict of interest after it was revealed she was secretary of a production company owned by her husband which had a contract with the BBC. The BBC said this did not breach their conflict of interest policy. In 2008 and 2009, BBC One won MGEITF Terrestrial Channel of the Year. At BBC One her commissions included ''Sherlock'', ''Mrs Brown's Boys'', ''Luther'', ''Criminal Justice'', ''Five Daughters'', ''Bang goes the Theory'', ''The Day the Immigrants Left and Famous'', ''Rich and Homeless''. She also commissioned Michael McIntyre's and John Bishop's first network programmes. She axed the sitcom ''
Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of '' Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes f ...
'', which had declining ratings in the last five-years of its run. In September 2010,
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
announced Hunt's appointment to the new post of Chief Creative Officer. Immediately placed on " gardening leave" from the BBC, she joined Channel 4 in January 2011. While on leave, Hunt was a witness at the
employment tribunal Employment tribunals are tribunal public bodies in England and Wales and Scotland which have statutory jurisdiction to hear many kinds of disputes between employers and employees. The most common disputes are concerned with unfair dismissal, red ...
of the sacked ''
Countryfile ''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues in the United Kingdom. The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker ...
'' presenter Miriam O'Reilly, who accused Hunt of
ageism Ageism, also spelled agism, is discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, and patterned on sexism and racism. Butler d ...
and
sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers pri ...
. In January 2011, the day after Hunt began working at Channel 4, O'Reilly's claims for age discrimination and victimisation were upheld but the sexism claim was dismissed. As part of her strategy to improve the quality of ''
Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...
,'' from spring 2011 Hunt hired Matt Frei (Washington), Jackie Long (Social Affairs) and Michael Crick (Political Correspondent) from the BBC. At Channel 4, her commissions included ''Humans'', ''Catastrophe'', ''Gogglebox'', ''Indian Summers'', ''The Island'', ''The Undateables'', ''Hunted'', ''Benefit Street'', ''First Dates'', ''Child Genius'' and ''The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds''. She led the team that delivered the BAFTA award-winning coverage of the 2012 London Paralympic Games and in 2015 brought Formula One to Channel 4 with a new three-year deal for the sport. Under her role, Channel 4 was named The Edinburgh TV Festival Channel of the Year in 2014 and 2016, and Broadcast Channel of the Year in 2016 – with the channel receiving industry awards including more BAFTA TV awards in 2014 and 2015, and more Royal Television Society Programme Awards than any other channel in 2014 and 2016. In 2015, Channel 4's audience share increased for the first time in nine years. In June 2015, Hunt told ''
Campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...
'' magazine the channel was enjoying "creative renewal" having "weaned ourselves off ''Big Brother''". In March 2016, Hunt delivered a Royal Television Society speech reflecting on her first five years at Channel 4 and the new creative culture she had established at the broadcaster. In February 2013, she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by ''
Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by ...
'' on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
. Hunt resigned from Channel 4 at the beginning of June 2017, and was due to leave in September after serving her notice. She had been seen as the most likely candidate to succeed David Abraham as chief executive and had been interviewed for the post. In October 2017, she was hired by
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
. to lead commissioning for Apple TV + in Europe.


Personal life

In June 2005, Hunt married Ian Blandford, formerly with
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
who now works for the
BBC College of Journalism The BBC Academy is an educational arm of the British Broadcasting Corporation which trains current and prospective broadcasting employees in the skills of the Broadcasting industry, in addition to training the corporation's own staff and prospect ...
and runs Brightspark TV. The couple have a son and daughter and live in
Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...
.


References


External links

*
Jay Hunt profile on Royal Television Society website

BBC Press release 3 December 2007

BBC News - Hunt becomes BBC One's controller
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Jay 1967 births Living people People from Sydney Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge BBC executives BBC One controllers Australian television executives People educated at Lady Eleanor Holles School