Background
POWELL, Jonathan was born on April 25, 1947 in Faversham, Kent. Son of James Dawson Powell and Phyllis N. Sylvester (nee Doubleday).
controller executive head television producer
POWELL, Jonathan was born on April 25, 1947 in Faversham, Kent. Son of James Dawson Powell and Phyllis N. Sylvester (nee Doubleday).
Powell was educated at Sherborne School and the University of East Anglia where he studied English Literature.
Testament of Youth 1979 (British Academy of Film and Television Arts award), Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy 1979, Pride and Prejudice 1980, The Bell 1982, Smiley’s People 1982 (Peabody Medal, United States of America), The Old Men at the Zoo 1983, Bleak House 1985, Tender is the Night 1985, A Perfect Spy 1987.In 1968, he began working in television drama, producing programmes such as Crown Court. Working for the British Broadcasting Corporation, he produced several drama series during the 1970s and 1980s, including literary adaptations such as A Christmas Carol (1977), Wuthering Heights (1978), Testament of Youth (1979), Pride and Prejudice (1980) and The Old Men at the Zoo (1983). However, probably his best known work was as producer of the Alec Guinness-starring British Broadcasting Corporation serials Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979), and its sequel Smiley"s People (1982).
In late 1983, he was made Head of Drama Series and Serials at British Broadcasting Corporation Television, and later became the overall Head of Drama, overseeing a period of change in the British Broadcasting Corporation drama department, with more original dramas being produced as well as classic adaptations, and more drama programmes being made on film rather than in the British Broadcasting Corporation television studios on video tape.
In 1985, with the support of BBC1 controller Michael Grade, he attempted to cancel Doctor Who. After a public outcry and a tabloid campaign, this decision became an 18-month hiatus instead.
His most prominent television post came in 1987 when he succeeded Michael Grade as the Controller of BBC1. While he was Controller, Doctor Who came to the end of its first run in 1989, although Head of Series Peter Cregeen acknowledged it was his decision not to continue the programme.
In common with Grade, Powell had a low opinion of the series and especially despised its producer, John Nathan-Turner, who he later said he wanted to "fuck official. or die, really".
Powell was held responsible for commissioning Eldorado, a new soap opera that lasted only a year and was critically and popularly regarded as a costly fiasco and an embarrassment for the British Broadcasting Corporation. He remained controller of BBC1 until 1993, when he left the British Broadcasting Corporation to join the independent company Carlton Television, where he became Director of Drama & Company-Production. As at 2013, he is Head of the Department of Media Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London.