Waheed Alli, Baron Alli (born 16 November 1964) is a British media entrepreneur and politician. He is the co-creator of the television series ''
Survivor'' and has held executive positions at several television production companies including the
Endemol Shine Group
Endemol Shine Group B.V. (stylized in all spaceless) was a Dutch production and distribution company of scripted and non-scripted content, responsible for programmes such as '' Big Brother'', '' Deal or No Deal'', '' The Money Drop'', '' Fear F ...
, Carlton Television Productions (now
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 broadca ...
),
Planet 24, and
Chorion
The chorion is the outermost fetal membrane around the embryo in mammals, birds and reptiles (amniotes). It develops from an outer fold on the surface of the yolk sac, which lies outside the zona pellucida (in mammals), known as the vitell ...
.
He served as the Chief Executive of
Silvergate Media
Silvergate Media Holdings Limited, doing business as Sony Pictures Television - Kids, is a television production and brand licensing company based in New York City and London. The company was founded in 2011 by Waheed Alli and was acquired by Son ...
until 2022, Chairman of Koovs Plc and a director at
Olga Productions. He is a member of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
in the United Kingdom, sitting as a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
for the
Labour Party, and is described as one of only a few openly
gay Muslim politicians in the world.
Biography
In British political terms he is considered
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, because both of his parents are
Indo-Caribbean. His mother, a nurse, is an
Indo-Trinidadian
Indo-Trinidadians and Tobagonians or Indian-Trinidadians and Tobagonians, are people of Indian origin who are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago whose ancestors came from India and the wider subcontinent beginning in 1845.
Indo-Trinidadians and ...
from
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
, and his estranged father, a mechanic, is an
Indo-Guyanese
Indo-Guyanese or Indian-Guyanese, are people of Indian origin who are Guyanese nationals tracing their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginnin ...
from
Guyana. His mother was
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and his father
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
; he has two brothers, one Hindu and the other Muslim. He was named one of the 20 most important Asians in British media in 2005.
[Most Powerful Asians in British Media: Lord Waheed Alli](_blank)
. ''Asians in Media'' At the same time, he maintains ties with his Caribbean roots, both with other British-Guyanese politicians such as
Valerie Amos
Valerie Ann Amos, Baroness Amos, (born 13 March 1954) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and diplomat who served as the eighth UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Before he ...
and
Trevor Phillips
Sir Mark Trevor Phillips (born 31 December 1953) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician who served as Chair of the London Assembly from 2000 to 2001 and from 2002 to 2003. He presented '' Trevor Phillips on Sunday'', a Sunda ...
, and with President
Bharrat Jagdeo
Bharrat Jagdeo (born 23 January 1964) is a Guyanese politician who has been serving as Vice President of Guyana since 2020, in the administration of President Irfaan Ali. He had previously also held the office from 1997 until 1999, during the pr ...
.
[John Muir]
"Caribbean Peers"
, Caribbean Voice, October 2001.
He is one of a group of highly successful Guyanese people in Britain (
Michael White of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' refers to them as the "Guyanese mafia"), which includes
Raj Persaud
Rajendra 'Raj' Persaud FRCPsych (born 13 May 1963) is an English consultant psychiatrist, broadcaster and author of books about psychiatry. He is known for raising public awareness of psychiatric and mental health issues in the general media, ...
,
Herman Ouseley
Herman George Ouseley, Baron Ouseley Kt (born 24 March 1945) is a British parliamentarian, who has run public authorities, including local councils and is an adviser and reviewer of public services organisations. Lord Ouseley has expertise in ...
and
David Dabydeen
David Dabydeen (born 9 December 1955) is a Guyanese-born broadcaster, novelist, poet and academic. He was formerly Guyana's Ambassador to UNESCO (United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organisation) from 1997 to 2010 and the youngest Memb ...
,
Cynthia Pine
Professor Cynthia Pine CBE (born October 1953) is a British Dentistry educator at the London School of Dentistry. In 2003, she became the first woman appointed to head a dentistry school in the UK.
She is one of a group of highly successful Guy ...
,
Keith Waithe and
Rudolph Dunbar.
Alli attended
Stanley Technical College in
South Norwood
South Norwood is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Wood ...
and left school at 16 with nine
O-levels
The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...
.
[Knitting Circle.](_blank)
Business career
Alli started work as a junior researcher for a finance magazine, crediting his first success to Salem Ghayar, who hired and mentored him. After a few years of preparing monthly reports for potential investors, he was headhunted by Save & Prosper, part of
Robert Fleming & Co.[Interviewed by Shahid](_blank)
''The Asian Outlook''. No date; approximately 2001. Eventually he returned to his original employer, and worked his way up in the media business within
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster.
Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from ...
's stable of publications. He then went to
the City for a second career in
investment banking, through which he became wealthy.
In the mid-1980s he met
Charlie Parsons
Charles Andrew Parsons is a British television producer known as the creator of the '' Survivor'' franchise. He also created ''The Big Breakfast'' and '' The Word''.
Education
Parsons was educated at Tonbridge School, a boarding independent sch ...
, who was to become his business partner as well as his life partner.
Alli's third career, and the first in which he achieved public prominence, was in the television industry. He and Parsons set up
24 Hour Productions
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
, which produced ''
The Word'', "the most talked about television programme in Britain".
In 1992 they merged with
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...
's
Planet Pictures
A planet is a large, rounded Astronomical object, astronomical body that is neither a star nor its Stellar remnant, remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud colla ...
to form
Planet 24. Such was its success that it became one of the largest TV production companies in the country, and the main independent supplier to
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 ...
.
It was responsible for genre-breaking programmes such as ''Big Breakfast'' and ''
Survivor''.
Carlton Television bought Planet 24 in March 1999 for £15 million, with Alli and Parsons prudently retaining the rights to the lucrative ''Survivor'' format. Waheed Alli became a Carlton board director before stepping down a year later.
In April 2003 Alli took over as chairman of the
media rights
Broadcasting rights (often also called media rights) are rights which a broadcasting organization negotiates with a commercial concern - such as a sports governing body or film distributor - in order to show that company's products on television o ...
company
Chorion Ltd, which owns rights to
Enid Blyton
Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have b ...
and
Agatha Christie, and has offices beyond the UK in New York, Sydney, and Tokyo.
He was chairman of
AIM-listed
ASOS.com
ASOS plc ( ) is a British online fashion and cosmetic retailer. The company was founded in 2000 in London, primarily aimed at young adults. The website sells over 850 brands as well as its own range of clothing and accessories, and ships to al ...
and a director of
Olga Television, entertainer
Paul O'Grady
Paul James O'Grady MBE DL (born 14 June 1955) is an English comedian, broadcaster, actor, writer and former drag queen. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag queen persona Lily Savage, very popular in ...
's
production company
A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...
. He owns part of
Shine Limited
Shine TV is a British media production company and part of Banijay with offices in London and Manchester.
Shine was founded in March 2001 by Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch. The company was 80% owned by Elis ...
, a media production company he co-founded in March 2001 with
Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of media-magnate
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
. In August 2011, he stepped down from the chairmanship of Chorion and sold half his stake in ASOS.com to start a new company called Silvergate Media.
He was part of a failed £100m bid backed by
private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...
firm
3i to buy
Virgin Radio
Virgin Radio launched in the United Kingdom in 1993. In 2008, Virgin Radio UK was sold to TIML, a subsidiary of The Times of India group, and the name was changed to Absolute Radio; the Virgin Radio name was not included in the sale.
In 2001, ...
from
SMG plc
STV Group plc (formerly known as Scottish Television plc, Scottish Media Group plc and SMG plc) is a media company based in Glasgow, Scotland. Beginning as a television broadcaster in 1957, the company expanded into newspapers, advertising and r ...
in 2005. In March 2007 he was appointed as SMG's non-executive director.
Alli was a founder investor in Koovs, an Indian online retailer looking to replicate the success of
ASOS
ASOS or Asos may refer to:
* Asos, a village in Greece
* ASOS (retailer), a UK online fashion store
* Association Sportive Oussou Saka, a Beninese football team
* Automated Surface Observing System, a type of weather station
* Air Support Operat ...
in the subcontinent. The company was set up in 2012, intending to raise £22m with a stock market listing on London's
AIM.
In December 2019 the company went into administration after funding could not be found.
The administration of Koovs has now been extended due to shareholders' concerns,
FRP Advisory
FRP Advisory is a business advisory firm based in the United Kingdom, providing restructuring, corporate finance, debt advisory, forensic accounting and financial advisory and is one of the UK’s largest specialists in the area of corporate res ...
state this in their most recent update to the market.
Politics
Alli joined the
Labour Party at the persuasion of his neighbour
Emily Thornberry
Emily Anne Thornberry (born 27 July 1960) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wale ...
, to whom he remains close. He is also close to
Anji Hunter, Director of Government Relations in
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
's first government.
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Blair used him for years as a means to help him reach out to a younger generation (aka "
yoof culture"),
and as such he is considered one of "
Tony's Cronies
"Tony's Cronies" was a term in British politics and media given to people who were viewed as being given positions of power because of their personal friendships with Prime Minister Tony Blair, during his premiership between 1997 and 2007. Thes ...
".
He was made a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
as Baron Alli, of
Norbury
Norbury is an area of south London. It shares the postcode London SW16 with neighbouring Streatham. Norbury is south of Charing Cross.
Etymology
The name Norbury derives from ''North Burh'', (North Borough). Some local histories note that ...
in the
London Borough of Croydon
The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough in south London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of . It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name; ...
, on 18 July 1998 at the age of 34, becoming the youngest and the first openly gay peer in
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
. He sits on the Labour benches in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
. 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. ...
...
' peer – young, Asian and from the world of media and entertainment".
. He spearheaded the campaign to repeal
. He advocated lowering the
for homosexuals from 18 to 16, equal to heterosexuals; this eventually became law as the
. It was during a heated exchange with conservative opponents, led by
, that he informed his fellow peers that he was gay. In April 1999, he said in a speech, "I have never been confused about my sexuality. I have been confused about the way I am treated as a result of it. The only confusion lies in the prejudice shown, some of it tonight
which prohibited religious institutions from conducting the ceremonies on their premises. This campaign culminated in a bipartisan amendment, which became part of the
. He influenced the draft Communications Bill in 2003.
Alli's work has been focused around gay rights, youth and education. He is the former
. He is also the President of the
Youth Development Trust. He is a patron of Skillset, the
supporting skills and training within the creative media industries.
In Autumn 2008 he won a
for the category of political figure. In 2002 he became a patron of
, stating: "Being a teenager isn't easy and it's particularly difficult for vulnerable and
members of our community. The Albert Kennedy Trust offers young
a unique and targeted service. My first task as Patron will be to support plans to extend these services across the UK, to help the increasing number of young people contacting the Trust." He was a
. Alli is a patron of Oxford Pride, the annual
. He is a patron of the
collection, which contains "portraits of the Nation's great men and women".
29 November 2000.
2005.
October 2001.