Former FT Group chief executive Rona Fairhead has been given the nod by the Government to be chair of the BBC Trust. So The Londoner, ever eager to help out a new kid in the playground, decided to round up advice from BBC veterans.
Luckily, Westminster’s North House was filled to the rafters last night with great and grey-haired BBC grandees — from Melvyn Bragg to Terry Wogan — toasting former Beeb chairman Sir Christopher Bland’s debut novel, Irish historical drama Ashes in the Wind.
So did Bland — with his hard-won knowledge of the Beeb’s labyrinthine inner workings — have any survival tips for the chair-elect? “She should cancel her subscription to a press-cuttings agency and grow a second skin,” Bland quipped drily. (Press cuttings today have her being sued in an HSBC money- laundering law suit — Fairhead is a non-executive director of the bank.)
A moment later, who should we bump into but Greg Dyke, the BBC’s rambunctious former D-G, who was appointed to the post by none other than Bland before being forced out in 2004. Any advice for the newbie? “They need to sort out the governance. It’s a shambles,” said Dyke, ruefully.
“Also, she needs to watch her back. It’s a place where everyone stabs you. Except Melvyn,” said Dyke, putting a friendly hand on Lord Bragg’s shoulder as the BBC’s leading intellectual happened to walk by. “I remember he came to my office the day I was getting the boot to offer me support.” Bragg smiled politely but maintained a diplomatic silence on the topic of his past and future bosses.
