Category: 91Èȱ¬
Date: 24.03.2005
Printable version
Jana Bennett, 91Èȱ¬ Director of Television, has today (Thursday 24 March) announced the appointment of Peter Fincham, outgoing Chief Executive Officer of talkbackTHAMES, as the new Controller of 91Èȱ¬ ONE.
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Peter Fincham will become the channel's creative leader and will be responsible for its editorial vision, its commissioning and scheduling strategies, working closely with the television team of genre commissioners and channel controllers.
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Peter will join in early summer.
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Jana Bennett said: "If there are maybe 10 people who have shaped television over the last decade, Peter is one of them.
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"He has a formidable track record in delivering original and outstanding programmes across a range of modern public service genres, and the knack of making them appeal to broad audiences.
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"From authored voices, like Stephen Poliakoff's The Lost Prince, to new entertainment formats like X Factor and factual series like Jamie's Kitchen, he has been involved in some of the most respected and acclaimed programming of recent times.
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"Peter has run an incredibly successful business but has done it along highly creative lines, and he has a strong grasp of the importance of creativity in the competitive environment of broadcasting.
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"He is known as someone who attracts the best talent, supports the best ideas and then backs them with a tenacious passion.
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"I am looking forward to welcoming him as part of 91Èȱ¬ Television."
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Peter Fincham said: "I grew up watching 91Èȱ¬ ONE and the first programmes I made as an independent producer were for 91Èȱ¬ ONE, so it's enormously flattering to be asked to take over as channel controller from Lorraine Heggessey.
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"I am used to being responsible for a wide range of programmes and 91Èȱ¬ ONE stands for range, quality and integrity. It also has a unique breadth of appeal.
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"The 91Èȱ¬ is going through big changes, but 91Èȱ¬ ONE remains its flagship channel and reinterpreting and reinvigorating it for new audiences is about as exciting a challenge as it gets.
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"I once applied for a job as a researcher on The Late, Late Breakfast Show and was turned down, so it's taken me 20 years to get a job at the 91Èȱ¬ - but what a job!"
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Peter Fincham was appointed Chief Executive of talkbackTHAMES in February 2003 when Talkback and Thames - two of the best known brands in UK television - were brought together to create the UK's biggest, best known and most diverse independent production company.
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Fincham has been responsible for bringing the two companies together while maintaining their individual cultures.
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Talkback productions include The Lost Prince, The Apprentice (UK), Look Around You, Essential Poems, QI, Grand Designs, Jamie's Kitchen, House Doctor and How Clean Is Your House?
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Thames credits include The X Factor, Pop Idol, The Bill, Family Affairs and Murder Investigation Team.
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In 2001, he won the Indie Award for the individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the independent sector of the industry.
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At Talkback, Peter's executive producer credits have included shows for the 91Èȱ¬ such as music based quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks, long-running sporting quiz They Think It's All Over, comedy series I'm Alan Partridge, the Bafta award-winning drama Perfect Strangers and The Lost Prince.
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Peter Fincham joined Talkback in 1985, then a radio, commercials and corporate video company set up by Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones.
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In 1986 he became Managing Director and in 1989 he led the company's move into television production.
