Hunt is renowned for her vast experience in the UK TV landscape.
In Jay Hunt, the BFI has landed one of the most experienced UK media executives of her generation as its new chair, appointed by the government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
Hunt has run three of the UK’s biggest TV channels at the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5, and also has US streamer experience from leading the European team of Apple TV+.
“Whatever space Jay is working in, she brings incredible energy, spirit and creative rigour to her role,” said Piers Wenger, A24’s Europe head of TV,...
In Jay Hunt, the BFI has landed one of the most experienced UK media executives of her generation as its new chair, appointed by the government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
Hunt has run three of the UK’s biggest TV channels at the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5, and also has US streamer experience from leading the European team of Apple TV+.
“Whatever space Jay is working in, she brings incredible energy, spirit and creative rigour to her role,” said Piers Wenger, A24’s Europe head of TV,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Countryfile's Ellie Harrison has revealed that she believes it is inevitable she we will eventually lose her job to a 'hot replacement'.
The presenter spoke about the nature of her job, saying that: "You are hot one year but completely out of favour the next".
Speaking to The Mirror, Harrison said: "It's a funny business and the nature of the beast with females is that what you get is not down to you.
"You are hot one year but completely out of favour the next. I know next year someone will be hotfooting it. I accept that and I know that."
She added: "I'd love to do Countryfile for a long time. But decisions are made way above you. If you are a head of a channel, you have to keep viewers interested... It can be quite political."
Former Countryfile host Miriam O'Reilly successfully took legal action against the...
The presenter spoke about the nature of her job, saying that: "You are hot one year but completely out of favour the next".
Speaking to The Mirror, Harrison said: "It's a funny business and the nature of the beast with females is that what you get is not down to you.
"You are hot one year but completely out of favour the next. I know next year someone will be hotfooting it. I accept that and I know that."
She added: "I'd love to do Countryfile for a long time. But decisions are made way above you. If you are a head of a channel, you have to keep viewers interested... It can be quite political."
Former Countryfile host Miriam O'Reilly successfully took legal action against the...
- 4/5/2015
- Digital Spy
Presenter Charlotte Smith will return to front Countryfile years after she was sacked when bosses reportedly said that she "wasn't young or pretty enough".
The 49-year-old will be back on screens from September, The Guardian reports.
Smith was one of four female presenters in their 40s and 50s who were dropped by the rural current affairs show five years ago as part of a revamp.
Her fellow presenter Miriam O'Reilly took the BBC to an employment tribunal and won after she was removed from the line-up.
Michaela Strachan and Juliet Morris were also cut in the 2009 revamp.
Smith is the first in the group to take up presenting duties again alongside Matt Baker in a new Sunday evening slot.
The 49-year-old will be back on screens from September, The Guardian reports.
Smith was one of four female presenters in their 40s and 50s who were dropped by the rural current affairs show five years ago as part of a revamp.
Her fellow presenter Miriam O'Reilly took the BBC to an employment tribunal and won after she was removed from the line-up.
Michaela Strachan and Juliet Morris were also cut in the 2009 revamp.
Smith is the first in the group to take up presenting duties again alongside Matt Baker in a new Sunday evening slot.
- 8/13/2014
- Digital Spy
Former 'Countryfile' presenter Miriam O'Reilly has hit out at Julia Bradbury and accused her of ''a**e licking''. The 57-year-old TV presenter won an age discrimination case against the BBC after being axed from the popular rural affairs show, but her 43-year-old co-star recently suggested her dismissal in 2009 was due to a format change, and not because of her age. Julia told The Times newspaper: ''With Miriam, the decision certainly wasn't made because she was old. The decision was because they were changing the programme.'' An incensed Miriam took to her Twitter account to fire back at Julia - who recently quit her...
- 3/18/2014
- Virgin Media - TV
Former 'Countryfile' presenter Miriam O'Reilly has hit out at Julia Bradbury and accused her of ''a**e licking''. The 57-year-old TV presenter won an age discrimination case against the BBC after being axed from the popular rural affairs show, but her 43-year-old co-star recently suggested her dismissal in 2009 was due to a format change, and not because of her age. Julia told The Times newspaper: ''With Miriam, the decision certainly wasn't made because she was old. The decision was because they were changing the programme.'' An incensed Miriam took to her Twitter account to fire back at Julia - who recently quit her...
- 3/17/2014
- Virgin Media - TV
Actor says former Countryfile presenter's successful ageism case was an 'attack on creative free expression'
The BBC should have been free to drop Miriam O'Reilly from Countryfile without attracting any accusations of age discrimination, according to comedian Rowan Atkinson, in a controversial intervention into the debate about the lack of older women on television.
The 57-year-old Blackadder, Mr Bean and Johnny English star said – in a letter to Radio 4's The Media Show – that O'Reilly's successful age discrimination case against the BBC amounted to an "attack on creative free expression" and that television was the wrong place to deal with anti-discrimination issues.
Atkinson wrote that he did not blame O'Reilly for taking legal action, but added that his argument "would be that the creative industries are completely inappropriate environments for anti-discrimination legislation and that the legal tools she used should never have been available to her".
In January 2011, O'Reilly won...
The BBC should have been free to drop Miriam O'Reilly from Countryfile without attracting any accusations of age discrimination, according to comedian Rowan Atkinson, in a controversial intervention into the debate about the lack of older women on television.
The 57-year-old Blackadder, Mr Bean and Johnny English star said – in a letter to Radio 4's The Media Show – that O'Reilly's successful age discrimination case against the BBC amounted to an "attack on creative free expression" and that television was the wrong place to deal with anti-discrimination issues.
Atkinson wrote that he did not blame O'Reilly for taking legal action, but added that his argument "would be that the creative industries are completely inappropriate environments for anti-discrimination legislation and that the legal tools she used should never have been available to her".
In January 2011, O'Reilly won...
- 2/23/2012
- by Dan Sabbagh, John Plunkett
- The Guardian - Film News
Axed BBC presenter Miriam O'Reilly has reportedly been offered a place on this year's Strictly Come Dancing. The former Countryfile host successfully sued the corporation earlier this year for age discrimination after she was dropped from the show. O'Reilly is now said to be joining the lineup of Strictly Come Dancing 2011. She recently agreed to front the BBC's daytime programme Crimewatch Roadshow. "They gave her that gig after being hugely embarrassed about the age discrimination action and offering her Strictly (more)...
- 7/24/2011
- by By Colin Daniels
- Digital Spy
Fern Britton has entered the row over apparent ageism on TV, saying that presenters should accept being dropped from shows because they are too old. The question of ageism in broadcasting has been in the spotlight again recently, after Miriam O'Reilly won a landmark age discrimination case against the BBC for her dismissal from Countryfile. Speaking to the Press Association, Britton said: "Sometimes there's a natural end to anyone's career, male or female, and you have to be very gracious when you accept it's coming because we are all freelancers, we are not in a job for life. "Sportsmen don't moan and groan that they are thrown out of their clubs when they reach 32. It's the reality." The former This Morning presenter added: "Sometimes, (more)...
- 3/22/2011
- by By Sophie Hines
- Digital Spy
Fern Britton has entered the row over apparent ageism on TV, saying that presenters should accept being dropped from shows because they are too old. The question of ageism in broadcasting has been in the spotlight again recently, after Miriam O'Reilly won a landmark age discrimination case against the BBC for her dismissal from Countryfile. Speaking to the Press Association, Britton said: "Sometimes there's a natural end to anyone's career, male or female, and you have to be very gracious when you accept it's coming because we are all freelancers, we are not in a job for life. "Sportsmen don't moan and groan that they are thrown out of their clubs when they reach 32. It's the reality." The former This Morning presenter added: "Sometimes, (more)...
- 3/22/2011
- by By Sophie Hines
- Digital Spy
Arlene Phillips has insisted that she was not replaced on Strictly Come Dancing because of her age. The choreographer's position on the BBC show's judging panel was filled by former winner Alesha Dixon in 2008. The change sparked complaints from viewers who believed that Dixon was chosen because she was younger. However, in an interview with former Countryfile host Miriam O'Reilly for a special Tonight programme, Phillips denied that this was the case. Asked if she suspected her age was the reason for (more)...
- 2/10/2011
- by By Ryan Love
- Digital Spy
Former Countryfile host Miriam O'Reilly has reportedly landed a job at ITV following her axe from the programme. The presenter, who recently won her age discrimination case against the BBC, will present an episode of Tonight investigating the treatment of older people in the television industry. A source told The Sun: "She will be holding the people in television to account, asking them how they choose who should be on TV. "She will (more)...
- 1/22/2011
- by By Colin Daniels
- Digital Spy
Channel's controller underlines its need to reflect its audience, as his predecessor faces accusations of discrimination
Danny Cohen, the newly appointed controller of BBC1, today spelled out the channel's commitment to older on-screen talent, as his predecessor faced accusations of age and sex discrimination at an employment tribunal.
The 36-year-old former controller of BBC3 said the BBC's flagship channel should do more to nuture older talent, including presenters in their "50s or 60s or 70s".
Miriam O'Reilly, the 53-year-old former Countryfile presenter, today accused Cohen's predecessor, Jay Hunt, of dropping her and three other female presenters in their 40s and 50s from the show because she "hated women".
"I do think that on BBC1 when we talk about new talented people, people do think you want somebody who is 20 or 30 – I think on BBC1 we should look for some new talent that's a bit older – or old," he said in...
Danny Cohen, the newly appointed controller of BBC1, today spelled out the channel's commitment to older on-screen talent, as his predecessor faced accusations of age and sex discrimination at an employment tribunal.
The 36-year-old former controller of BBC3 said the BBC's flagship channel should do more to nuture older talent, including presenters in their "50s or 60s or 70s".
Miriam O'Reilly, the 53-year-old former Countryfile presenter, today accused Cohen's predecessor, Jay Hunt, of dropping her and three other female presenters in their 40s and 50s from the show because she "hated women".
"I do think that on BBC1 when we talk about new talented people, people do think you want somebody who is 20 or 30 – I think on BBC1 we should look for some new talent that's a bit older – or old," he said in...
- 11/5/2010
- by Josh Halliday
- The Guardian - Film News
London -- The BBC is facing yet more accusations of age and sex discrimination after yet another of its onscreen women has been axed.
Former "Countryfile" presenter and veteran BBC staffer of 25 years Miriam O'Reilly is suing the pubcaster for age and sex discrimination.
She was made redundant from the BBC1 rural nature program last year as part of a revamp that saw three 50-plus women replaced when the show moved into an early-evening slot.
O'Reilly's departure was just one of a string of high-profile departures of older onscreen women at the same time that the BBC has maintained men in comparable onscreen roles well beyond their 50s and 60s.
Last year's ousting of dance coach Arlene Phillips from "Strictly Come Dancing" in favor of the much younger Alesha Dixon caused uproar, as did the axing of some of television's highest-profile presenters, including newscaster Anna Ford.
The news of the...
Former "Countryfile" presenter and veteran BBC staffer of 25 years Miriam O'Reilly is suing the pubcaster for age and sex discrimination.
She was made redundant from the BBC1 rural nature program last year as part of a revamp that saw three 50-plus women replaced when the show moved into an early-evening slot.
O'Reilly's departure was just one of a string of high-profile departures of older onscreen women at the same time that the BBC has maintained men in comparable onscreen roles well beyond their 50s and 60s.
Last year's ousting of dance coach Arlene Phillips from "Strictly Come Dancing" in favor of the much younger Alesha Dixon caused uproar, as did the axing of some of television's highest-profile presenters, including newscaster Anna Ford.
The news of the...
- 6/14/2010
- by By Mimi Turner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
BBC One controller Jay Hunt has claimed that allegations she has an ageist attitude are "ridiculous". The broadcasting boss was criticised last year after Arlene Phillips, 66, was dropped from the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel in favour of former winner Alesha Dixon, 31. Meanwhile, the debate was reignited last month as former Countryfile presenter Miriam O'Reilly, 52, claimed to be a victim of ageism and sexism after being axed from the programme and replaced by Julia Bradbury, 36. However, speaking to The Guardian, Hunt insisted: "The simple fact is I am a 43-year-old woman. I feel passionate about how BBC One reflects the audience back to itself. "It is absolutely ridiculous (more)...
- 3/15/2010
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
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