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3 unusual facts about Michael Checkland


Michael Checkland

It has been claimed that the exodus to Channel 4 in the early 1990s of dramatists like Dennis Potter and Alan Bleasdale, who had both been responsible for series which caused outrage among Conservatives during the Milne era, had much to do with the relative lack of risk-taking at the BBC under Checkland and his successor John Birt, who was deputy director-general throughout Checkland's reign.

Sir Michael Checkland (born 13 March 1936) was Director-General of the BBC from 1987 to 1992, being appointed after the forced resignation of Alasdair Milne.

In 1985 he was appointed Deputy Director-General of the Corporation, and at the same time he became Vice President of the Royal Television Society, a position he retained until 1994.



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