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Kevin Lygo (born 18 September 1957) is a British
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...
, presently Director of Television at
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
.


Early life

Lygo is the son of
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
officer
Raymond Lygo Admiral Sir Raymond Derek Lygo, (15 March 1924 – 7 March 2012) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff from 1975 to 1978. Naval career Educated at Ilford County High School and Clark's College, Bromley, Lygo join ...
. Educated at
Cranbrook School, Kent Cranbrook School (formerly Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School) is a co-educational state funded boarding and day grammar school in the market town of Cranbrook, Kent, England. Selection is made of pupils at age 11 and 13. History The school w ...
, Lygo studied Psychology at
Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...
, graduating in 1980. After leaving university in 1980 one of his first jobs was at the Half-Price Theatre Ticket Booth in
Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...
, operated by the Society of West End Theatre.


Career

After August 1981 he was one of three trainees to join 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. ...
...
, alongside Peter Salmon (former BBC head of sport) and multi-award-winning film-maker
Peter Kosminsky Peter Kosminsky (born 21 April 1956) is a British writer, director and producer. He has directed Hollywood movies such as ''White Oleander'' and television films like ''Warriors'', ''The Government Inspector (television drama), The Government In ...
. After the two years trainee-ship as a comedy script writer, during which he worked on ''
The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from April 1971 to December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, seria ...
,'' Lygo worked freelance including on the launch of
Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekd ...
's
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, ...
chatshow,
Wogan ''Wogan'' is a British television talk show which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1982 until 1992, presented by Terry Wogan. It was usually broadcast live from the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd's Bush, London, until 1991. It was then broadcast ...
. Lygo then left the television industry for seven years, part of which he spent in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
as a dealer in
Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide ra ...
, with a gallery in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Persuaded by friend
Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...
to produce ''
Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...
,'' he came back on a six-month contract with the BBC. He then rejoined the BBC on a permanent contract, commissioning shows including ''
Men Behaving Badly ''Men Behaving Badly'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British British sitcom, sitcom that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang (Martin Clunes) and his flatmates Dermot Povey (Harry Enfield; series 1 ...
'' and ''
They Think It's All Over "They think it's all over" is a quote from Kenneth Wolstenholme's BBC TV commentary in the closing moments of the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final, when England beat West Germany 4–2 after extra time to win the FIFA World Cup. In the final few seco ...
.'' Hired in 1997 by Channel 4, Lygo was
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's Head of Entertainment between 1998 and 2001, where he commissioned ''
TFI Friday ''TFI Friday'' is an entertainment show that was broadcast on Channel 4 television in the United Kingdom. It was produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker, and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first five series. The sixth series ...
,
Smack the Pony ''Smack the Pony'' is a British sketch comedy show that was originally broadcast between 1999 and 2003 on Channel 4. The main performers on the show were Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips. There were also regular appearances from S ...
,
So Graham Norton ''So Graham Norton'' is a British television chat show hosted by Irish personality Graham Norton. It aired on Channel 4 from 3 July 1998 to 1 March 2002. Theme The show was primarily adult-oriented, with host Norton dishing out many sexual inn ...
,
Trigger Happy TV ''Trigger Happy TV'' is a hidden camera/ practical joke comedy television series. The original British edition of the show, produced by Absolutely Productions, starred Dom Joly and ran for three series on the British television channel Channel 4 ...
'' and ''Spaced.'' After spending two years at
Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
on its launch, he returned to Channel 4 in 2003 as Director of Television and Content. In this role he commissioned '' Big Brother, Sugar Rush'' and '' The F Word,'' and poached
Richard and Judy Richard and Judy is the name informally given to Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, a British married couple who are both television presenters and columnists. They presented the daytime television programme '' This Morning'' from 1988 until 2 ...
. He then spent 2010-2016 as managing director at
ITV Studios ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcas ...
, before becoming the director of television for the ITV Network.


References


External links


Profile at Media Guardian
Living people 1957 births Alumni of St Cuthbert's Society, Durham British television executives Channel 4 people People educated at Cranbrook School, Kent {{UK-tv-bio-stub