Mohit Bakaya
Mohit Bakaya, Hon. FRSL (born 12 November 1964)[1] is the controller of BBC Radio 4.[2] He joined the BBC in 1993[3] and produced programmes such as Front Row[4] and Night Waves[5] before becoming the commissioning editor for factual in 2008.[6]
He was appointed as controller of Radio 4 in 2019, replacing Gwyneth Williams.[7]
In 2023, Bakaya was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.[8]
Early life
Mohit Bakaya was born in south west London in 1964. His father Madan was a Bollywood production manager who had moved to England in the early 1960s to promote Hindi films. Bakaya's mother Uma was a software developer for IBM; she died when he was eight. His half-brother, Samir Shah, who is 13 years older than Bakaya, shared the same mother. As of 2024[update], Shah is chairman of the BBC.[9]
Bakaya attended a state school in Pimlico, before reading Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Keble College, Oxford.[9][1]
Career
In 1993, Bakaya was chosen by the BBC for a training scheme. He has been a producer and editor of arts programmes on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4. In 1998, he launched the Radio 4 arts magazine series Front Row. He became controller of Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra in 2019.[9]
Personal life
Bakaya's first marriage was to Josephine Ryan, an antiques dealer, with whom he has a son and daughter. Bakaya's second wife, Victoria Shepherd, is an author who was a producer with him on Radio 3's Night Waves. The couple have a son.[9]
References
- ^ a b Moore, Matthew (5 March 2024). "Mohit Bakaya: 'Yes, I will scrap or change some Radio 4 programmes'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ^ Nicholls, Dominic (24 December 2022). "Radio 4 was too miserable this year, admits BBC boss" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ "Mohit Bakaya". bbc.com. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ Tobitt, Charlotte (9 July 2019). "BBC appoints new controller of Radio 4 as 5 Live chief moves to lead BBC Sounds". Press Gazette. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ Quirke, Antonia (13 February 2019). "Who will be the next controller of BBC Radio 4?". www.newstatesman.com. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ Perraudin, Frances (30 December 2019). "Head of Radio 4 to put focus on programmes about 'solutions'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ McCall Smith, Alexander (9 July 2019). "Radio 4 will ruin itself by changing to attract younger listeners". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ Creamer, Ella (12 July 2023). "Royal Society of Literature aims to broaden representation as it announces 62 new fellows". The Guardian.
- ^ a b c d Stanford, Peter (1 March 2024). "Radio 4 controller Mohit Bakaya: 'People say we're woke – the truth is we're a mirror for Britain'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
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