Former BBC broadcaster, documentary-filmmaker Alan Yentob passes away

Veteran BBC broadcaster and documentary-maker Alan Yentob has died at the age of 78, his family has confirmed.

A statement released by the BBC on behalf of his family said Yentob passed away on May 24.

Over a distinguished career spanning decades, Yentob became a defining figure in British arts broadcasting. He interviewed cultural icons including David Bowie, Maya Angelou, Charles Saatchi, and Grayson Perry for acclaimed BBC series such as Omnibus, Arena, and Imagine.

His wife, TV producer Philippa Walker, paid tribute to Yentob’s vibrant spirit and boundless creativity.

"For Jacob, Bella and I, every day with Alan held the promise of something unexpected. Our life was exciting—he was exciting," she said. “He was curious, funny, annoying, late, and creative in every cell of his body. But more than that, he was the kindest of men and a profoundly moral man. He leaves in his wake a trail of love a mile wide.”

Yentob began his BBC career in 1968 as a trainee at the World Service, steadily rising through the ranks. By 1985, he was appointed head of music and arts, and later took the helm at BBC2, where he commissioned enduring classics like Absolutely Fabulous and Have I Got News For You, both of which later moved to BBC One.

He played a key role in launching the children’s channels CBBC and CBeebies and became controller of BBC One in 1993. During his tenure, he commissioned acclaimed dramas such as Middlemarch, Pride and Prejudice—which famously made Colin Firth a household name—and Ballykissangel. He also made headlines for axing the troubled soap Eldorado.

Yentob continued to be a prominent on-screen presence, notably fronting Imagine, the BBC’s long-running arts documentary series which began in 2003. He also presented a major programme exploring the life of Leonardo da Vinci, featuring Sir Mark Rylance.

Appointed the BBC’s Creative Director in 2004, Yentob was tasked with shaping the corporation’s artistic and cultural direction. Outside the BBC, he served as chairman of the board of trustees for the charity Kids Company from 2003 until its closure in 2015.

As recently as 2024, he was seen on BBC Two in a powerful interview with author Sir Salman Rushdie, discussing the aftermath of the knife attack that left Rushdie blind in one eye.

Yentob’s contributions to the arts were formally recognised in 2024 when he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the arts and media. He also received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from De Montfort University in 2005.

Alan Yentob is survived by his wife, Philippa Walker, and their two children.