Dawn French leads tributes after death of Alan Yentob aged 78
Jeremy Clarkson also paid tribute.
Tributes have rolled in following the death of BBC arts broadcaster and documentary maker Alan Yentob, who has died at the age of 78.
A statement from the presenter’s family, released by the BBC, said he died on May 24.
Yentob interviewed the likes of David Bowie, Charles Saatchi, Maya Angelou and Grayson Perry for TV series such as Omnibus, Arena and Imagine during his long-serving career at the broadcaster.
His wife, Philippa Walker, described him as ‘curious, funny, annoying, late and creative in every cell of his body’, adding that he was ‘the kindest of men’.
She said: ‘For Jacob, Bella and I every day with Alan held the promise of something unexpected. Our life was exciting, he was exciting.
‘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.’
The presenter was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2024 (Picture: REUTERS) Yentob with film director Stephen Frears (Picture: BBC Studios/Alex Kirkwood)Those he knew and inspired have penned tributes following the news, with TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson describing him as ‘the guy who called to end my career at Top Gear.’
As the BBC’s creative director at the time, Yentob attributed the 2015 ‘fracas’ between Clarkson and a producer to ‘stress’ and ‘workload.’
‘He knew what had really gone on though and two days later, we had dinner. Great man. Loved and understood television. My love to Philippa,’ Clarkson wrote on X.
Such awful news about Alan Yentob. He was a brilliant, creative man who championed the things and people he believed in and made wonderful programmes that will live on for years. It’s no surprise he had such a long career at the top and was trusted by so many. I owed a lot to him… Krishnan Guru-Murthy (@krishgm) May 25, 2025
Channel 4 anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy also paid tribute, writing: ‘Such awful news about Alan Yentob.
‘He was a brilliant, creative man who championed the things and people he believed in and made wonderful programmes that will live on for years.
‘It’s no surprise he had such a long career at the top and was trusted by so many.
‘I owed a lot to him – he put me on BBC1, supported me when I came under fire for asking awkward questions and wrote to me to say so.
‘He’d often text me about C4 News and used to say Unreported World was the programme he wished he could have poached.’
Yentob’s series, Imagine, saw the producer in conversation with some of the biggest names in art, such as satirist Armando Iannucci (Picture: BBC)Posting to the social media platform BlueSky, 80s’ pop duo The Pet Shop Boys said: ‘We are very sad to hear that Alan Yentob has died.
‘Alan was a legend in British TV, responsible for some of the BBC’s finest programmes including the documentary series, “Arena” and “Imagine”.
‘We were lucky enough to be the subject of one of his “Imagine” documentaries broadcast last year.
‘He was a stimulating person to spend time with and a great supporter of all artistic endeavours.
‘We send our sincere condolences to his wife, children, friends and colleagues. Neil and Chris x”
We’ve lost a tip top chap. Our advocate from the start… Alan Yentob. Dawn French ????????????️???????????? (@Dawn_French) May 25, 2025
Comedians Dawn French and David Baddiel also paid tribute via X, with the French and Saunders star writing: ‘We’ve lost a tip top chap. Our advocate from the start… Alan Yentob.’
Baddiel, who appeared in Yentob’s 2011 special, The Art of Stand-Up described him as ‘the King of TV.’
Sharing a picture of himself with the presenter, he wrote: “Very sad to hear about the death of Alan Yentob.
‘Here he is backstage after one of my shows, being incredibly supportive, as he always was. A lovely man, and a king of TV.’
Very sad to hear about the death of Alan Yentob. Here he is backstage after one of my shows, being incredibly supportive, as he always was. A lovely man, and a king of TV. David Baddiel (@Baddiel) May 25, 2025
He joined the BBC in 1968 as a trainee at the World Service where he worked his way through the ranks to become the corporation’s head of music and arts in 1985.
During his tenure at BBC2, Yentob was credited with the commissions of shows like Absolutely Fabulous and Have I Got News For You, which later moved to BBC One.
He also launched CBBC and CBeebies.
In 1993 he became the official controller of BBC1. His drama commissions ranged from Middlemarch and Pride And Prejudice – which made actor Colin Firth a heartthrob – to Ballykissangel, while wielding an axe to the failing Spain-set soap Eldorado.
He also presented shows for the BBC, including a series on the life of artist Leonardo da Vinci, starring Sir Mark Rylance, and a regular arts series, Imagine, from 2003.
Yentob was appointed creative director of the BBC in 2004 (Picture: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)The broadcaster was appointed creative director, to oversee the BBC’s creative strategy, in 2004 and he also served as chairman of the board of trustees for Kids Company, founded by Camila Batmanghelidjh, from 2003 until the collapse of the charity in 2015.
In a BBC Two programme in 2024 he spoke to author Sir Salman Rushdie about the devastating effects of the onstage knife attack that left him blind in one eye.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters from De Montfort University, Leicester, in 2005 and in 2024 he was formally made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the King for services to the arts and media.
Yentob was married to TV producer Philippa Walker and the couple had two children together.
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