Charles McLelland (19 November 1930 – 2 December 2004)Charles McLelland Diligent broadcasting executive whose loyalty cost him his job
/ref> 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 ...

and

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

from 1976 to 1978, and the controller solely of

from 1978 to 1980, when the two stations' management teams were separated. McLelland served in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

for two years as his national service commitment, before joining ''

The Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'' in 1954 working as a sub-editor and leader writer. McLelland was the head of the

BBC Arabic BBC Arabic ( ar, بي بي سي عربي) may refer to the Literary Arabic language radio station run by the BBC World Service, as well as the BBC's satellite TV channel, and the website that serves as an Literary Arabic language news portal an ...

service from 1971 to 1975 and played an important role in feeding the growing interest in Asian music and culture in Britain. To prepare for the job he took a one-year course in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

at the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

. While McLelland was the controller of Radio 2, the station started broadcasting 24 hours a day. He also played a pivotal role in radio planning as chairman of the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the C ...

radio programme committee. He left the BBC in 1986 to become director-general of the

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in 1987.

Personal life

McLelland married his wife Phillipa (nee Murphy), and they had three daughters and a son. McLelland lived in his later years in the village of

Tisbury, Wiltshire Tisbury is a large village and civil parish approximately west of Salisbury in the English county of Wiltshire. With a population at the 2011 census of 2,253 it is a centre for communities around the upper River Nadder and Vale of Wardour. The ...

. He died on December 2, 2004, aged 74.

References

1930 births 2004 deaths British radio executives BBC executives BBC Radio 1 controllers BBC Radio 2 controllers 20th-century British businesspeople {{UK-radio-bio-stub