Marmaduke James Hussey, Baron Hussey of North Bradley (29 August 1923 – 27 December 2006), known as Duke Hussey, was Chairman of the

Board of Governors of the BBC The Board of Governors of the BBC was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It consisted of twelve people who together regulated the BBC and represented the interests of the public. It existed from 1927 until it was r ...

from 1986 to 1996, serving two terms in that role.

Early life

The son of the athlete and colonial administrator

Eric Hussey Eric Robert James Hussey (24 April 1885 – 19 May 1958) was a British colonial administrator and track and field athlete. Hussey competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. He was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 110 metres hurdles, after fini ...

and his wife, Christine Elizabeth Morley, Marmaduke Hussey was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

. He served in the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was severely injured and captured at

Anzio Anzio (, also ; ) is a town and ''comune'' on region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside resorts, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola, and Ve ...

, having to have a leg amputated while a

prisoner-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

, which resulted in his repatriation.

Career

After returning to civilian life, Hussey joined

Associated Newspapers DMG Media (stylised in lowercase) is an intermediate holding company for Associated Newspapers, Northcliffe Media, Harmsworth Printing, Harmsworth Media and other subsidiaries of Daily Mail and General Trust. It is based at 9 Derry Street in ...

, where he had a long career, culminating in being appointed managing director. He subsequently joined

Times Newspapers News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media conglomerate News Corp. It is the current publisher of ...

as chief executive and managing director, a post he held from 1971 to 1980. In 1986 he was appointed as

Chairman of the BBC The Chair of the BBC, referred to as Chairman when the incumbent is male and Chairwoman when female, is the head of the BBC Board, responsible for maintaining the independence of the BBC and overseeing the functioning of the BBC to fulfil its mi ...

, upon the death of

Stuart Young Stuart Richard Young (born 9 February 1975) is a Trinidad and Tobago attorney and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago between March and May 2025. As member of the People's National Movement (PNM), he has bee ...

, thanks in part to his close connections to the ruling

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

. Within three months of joining the BBC, Hussey had forced the resignation of the Director-General,

Alasdair Milne Alasdair David Gordon Milne (8 October 19308 January 2013) was a British television producer and executive. He had a long career at the BBC, where he was eventually promoted to Director-General, and was described by ''The Independent'' as "one ...

, following a series of rows in recent years between the BBC and the Conservative government. In 1992 Hussey appointed

John Birt John Birt, Baron Birt (born 10 December 1944) is a British television executive and businessman. He is a former Director-General (1992–2000) of the BBC. After a successful career in commercial television, initially at Granada Television and ...

as Director-General of the BBC, but fell out with him over his management style and ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

's'' controversial interview with

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

in 1995, later commenting that Birt had been his "greatest mistake". Hussey retired from the BBC in 1996, and on 11 September 1996 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Hussey of North Bradley in the County of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, taking a seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Hussey gave up several boardroom appointments when he joined the BBC, but he remained chairman of the board of the

Royal Marsden Hospital The Royal Marsden Hospital is a specialist National Health Service oncology hospital in London based at two sites in Brompton, in Kensington and Chelsea, and Belmont in Sutton. It is managed by The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and supp ...

until 1998.Obituary
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 27 December 2006.

Personal life

On 25 April 1959, Hussey married Lady Susan Waldegrave, youngest daughter of

Geoffrey Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave Geoffrey Noel Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave, (21 November 1905 – 23 May 1995), known as Viscount Chewton from 1933 to 1936, was a British Peerage, British peer and agriculturist. Background and education Waldegrave was the only son of H ...

. She was a

Woman of the Bedchamber In the Royal Household of the United Kingdom the term Woman of the Bedchamber is used to describe a woman (usually a daughter of a peer) attending either a queen regnant or queen consort, in the role of lady-in-waiting. Historically the term 'Gen ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and is a godmother to

William, Prince of Wales William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his pat ...

. They had two children.

Death

Hussey died at the age of 83 on 27 December 2006.Lord Hussey of North Bradley: Obituary
''The Times''; accessed 26 March 2016.

In popular culture

Hussey is known as 'Marmalade Gusset' in the satirical magazine ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

''. Hussey is portrayed by

Richard Cordery Richard Cordery is an actor from the United Kingdom. Career Film and television Cordery's television credits include ''Rumpole of the Bailey'', as a prosecution Barrister (Series 5 Episode 6 - 1988), ''Doc Martin'' as Dennis Dodds, ''Whitechape ...

season 5 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

of ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

''.

Arms

References

External links

Obituary: Lord Hussey of North Bradley
''

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 ...

'', 27 December 2006.
Lord Hussey
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', 28 December 2006.
Obituary
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 28 December 2006.
Ex-BBC chairman Lord Hussey dies
''

'', 27 December 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hussey, Marmaduke 1923 births 2006 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford BBC governors Chairmen of the BBC Grenadier Guards officers British Army personnel of World War II Crossbench life peers People educated at Rugby School English amputees British World War II prisoners of war British royalty and nobility with disabilities World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Life peers created by Elizabeth II