Biographies

Controller, BBC One

Jay Hunt became Controller, BBC One, in May 2008.

She rejoined the BBC from Five, where she was Director of Programmes.

Jay was formerly the BBC's Controller of Daytime, having previously been Senior Commissioning Editor, Daytime.

Jay initially joined the BBC in 1989 as a researcher on Breakfast News, after a stint working for an independent production company making children's programmes in Australia. She worked her way up and became a regular overnight editor, taking charge of high-profile event coverage such as live specials from the Hong Kong handover and the first mixed-race elections in South Africa.

She moved to Newsnight in 1994 as an output editor and filmmaker before joining Panorama.

In 1999 she was made Editor of the One O'Clock News, with a special remit to make the programme a more integral part of the daytime schedule.

From the One, she moved to edit the Six O'Clock News and, during her time there, the show won a Royal Television Society (RTS) home news award.

In 2003, Jay moved to Birmingham as Executive Producer of Daytime. She oversaw production on a variety of strands, from the popular house-buyer strand To Buy Or Not to Buy to quiz formats like Call My Bluff. She was appointed Senior Commissioning Editor, Daytime, in 2004 with responsibility for commissioning daytime output from the independent sector.

In May 2005 she became Controller for BBC Daytime, commissioning output across BBC One and BBC Two, launching a range of titles including Great British Menu, Don't Get Done Get Dom and The Heir Hunters. She won RTS Daytime programme of the year with Through Hell And High Water, a documentary strand following James Cracknell and Ben Fogle in their epic row across the Atlantic.

During her time at Five she commissioned returner hits like Cowboy Builders, Extreme Fishing with Robson Green and Paddy And Rory's Great British Adventure.

Since becoming Controller, BBC One she has introduced a wide range of new shows to the channel including Total Wipeout, Let's Dance For Comic Relief and Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow.

She has also refreshed other shows including Countryfile, The One Show and Watchdog and has introduced new forms of event television through stripped dramas such as Criminal Justice and Occupation.