Jana Bennett: a pioneer whose thirst for knowledge helped shape the modern BBC

A series of contemporaries have led the tributes to Jana Bennett, a pioneering influence for women in public service broadcasting and a major figure in the modern era of the BBC.

Bennett, who died earlier this week, was the BBC’s first female head of science and editor of the Horizon strand and rose to become its director of television over two spells at the corporation.

She was crucial in it embracing the digital revolution via the launch of BBC3 and other channels in the early 2000s and was one of the most important figures in the development of specialist factual as a genuinely popular TV genre.

A recurring theme among peers was Bennett’s skill as a creative leader and manager.

Lorraine Heggessey was her lifelong friend after the pair joined the corporation together as trainees in 1979. The former BBC1 controller said: “Jana always encouraged others to be more ambitious in their thinking, and never sought glory for herself. Her contributions were often invisible, other than to the many people who benefited.”

Among those who worked with and for Bennett were Danny Cohen, Pat Younge, and Jane Tranter.

Cohen, who she hired as controller of BBC1 in 2010, described Bennett as a “genuinely kind and warm-hearted person, and a great boss”.

He added: “Jana was an outstanding creative who also knew how to produce the right conditions for others to thrive. She believed fundamentally in the BBC and knew it was at its best when creativity was flowing from lots of different people.”

Former drama controller Tranter’s memories chimed with this sentiment: “Jana was the most generous of bosses and a good friend to many. She had a brain the size of a planet but used it to listen, as well as to talk. She gave us the space to make mistakes and learn and allowed the BBC to be fun. She is a huge loss.”

Broke the glass ceiling

Younge was brought back from the US by Bennett to run BBC in-house production. He said: “Jana believed in public service broadcasting and the importance of in-house. She felt we hadn’t had a fair crack of the whip and did all she could to help us raise our game.

“She was one of the women from our generation who broke the glass ceiling in television, and she was a big supporter of diversity. She knew some of the challenges I faced coming through as a black man because she had faced similar ones as a woman, a few years before. She was kind and funny and has gone too soon.”

Heggessey explained that Bennett had been “a trailblazer for women who tended to be pigeonholed in terms of working in education or children’s. Jana proved women could run the big gun departments”.

Bennett was one of just five women on the BBC’s executive team when she was appointed director of television in 2001 and was a former chair and major supporter of Women in Film & TV. She was presented with the organisation’s Contribution to the Medium Award in 2012.

The organisation’s chair Liz Tucker said she had been a hugely influential figure: “With charm, wit, razor sharp intelligence and editorial judgement, Jana made such an immense contribution to the TV industry and will be hugely missed. She was my first boss in TV in London when she was the first female editor of Horizon and was always approachable and thoughtful. Her humanity shone through everything she did.”

Former WFTV chief executive Kate Kinninmont added: “Jana was always pushing to do more for women in the industry and full of fizz and ideas to achieve that. She should have been the first woman DG of the BBC. Despite her achievements, we’re still waiting.”

Heggessey added that Bennett’s creative credentials should not be overlooked. She highlighted her groundbreaking decision to commission Walking with Dinosaurs and said Bennett was able to achieve the perfect balance of public service broadcasting.

“Jana had a great intellectual curiosity that she brought to viewers, who she never underestimated, and she transformed how television produced specialist factual – taking the most complex subjects and making them accessible.”

Jane Root, former BBC2 controller agreed that Bennett had “transformed” television. She said: “The TV we work in today has her DNA right through it: from primetime science to BBC3 and much, much more. She did all that and was an amazing boss and great friend. Be a little more Jana, television industry! That’s the way to remember her.”