Biographies

Director, BBC World Service English Networks and News

Gwyneth Williams is Director of BBC World Service's English Networks and News.

She is responsible for all the BBC's international radio programmes in English and for the 13 streams which deliver that output to its 42 million listeners around the globe. She took up the post in July 2007.

She was Head of Radio Current Affairs and Editor of the BBC Reith Lectures. Her department included many familiar flagship BBC Radio programmes such as File On 4, Analysis, From Our Own Correspondent, Crossing Continents, 5 Live Report, Moneybox and In Business. She herself edited landmark series.

Gwyneth Williams started her career in Bush House as a trainee talks writer in 1976, rapidly moving on to become producer and duty editor of BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight.

Later, as Deputy Editor, Special Current Affairs Programmes, she worked on a range of programmes including election coverage.

As Editor, Policy and Social Programmes from 1994 to 1996 she oversaw the launch of current affairs programmes on BBC Radio 5 Live, edited Radio 4 flagship programmes including The Week In Westminster and worked briefly for BBC One's On The Record.

She has also been Editor, Foreign Affairs Radio and the bi-media Editor, Home Current Affairs.

At the beginning of her career, Gwyneth worked as a research assistant at the Overseas Development Institute and published two books, one on Southern Africa with Brian Hackland and one on Third World political organisations.

She took five years out of formal employment to be with her children in the Eighties.

She grew up in South Africa and was educated at St Hugh's College, Oxford.