- Jonathan Powell was born on April 25, 1947. He is a producer and writer, known for Testament of Youth (1979), A Perfect Spy (1987) and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979). He was previously married to Sally Brampton.
- SpouseSally Brampton(December 29, 1990 - 2000) (divorced, 1 child)
- He was the Head of BBC Series and Serials (1983 - 1985), Head of BBC Drama (1985 - 1987) and Controller of BBC One (1987 - 1993).
- He was involved (with BBC One Controller Michael Grade) in the attempted cancellation of Doctor Who (1963) in 1985, the corporation's longest running science-fiction series. He was Controller of BBC One when the series finally ended in 1989 after several years of poor ratings against Coronation Street (1960). The decision to cancel it was by Peter Cregeen, the new Head of Series.
- As Controller of BBC One, he commissioned the disastrous (and hugely expensive) soap opera Eldorado (1992). He was replaced the following year by Alan Yentob.
- Norman Tebbit came to dinner one night on the sixth floor of the BBC and we were all summoned, heads of department, and he sort of shot us throughout dinner saying, "So, what was the last right-wing programme you made?" And of course nobody had an answer at all. My best chance was a programme called Howards' Way (1985), which I tried to persuade him was a pro-Thatcherite drama, and I didn't get very far really.
- [on his contempt for Doctor Who (1963) and its producer, John Nathan-Turner] I wanted him to fuck off and solve it - or die, really. But it had probably gone beyond solving. The only way of resuscitating it would have been to put a new producer on it - but we didn't want to resuscitate it.
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