Lesley Douglas

Lesley Douglas (born 7 June 1963) is a British former radio executive. She was the Controller of BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music from early 2004 until her resignation in October 2008 over The Russell Brand Show prank calls.

BBC career On graduation, Douglas joined the BBC as a production assistant in 1986, On the same day, Ross was suspended by the BBC without pay for 12 weeks.

It subsequently emerged that Douglas had allowed the offending segment to be broadcast without having listened to it.

Douglas had caused controversy earlier in 2008 with remarks, made in defence of the appointment of George Lamb to the 10 am–1 pm slot on 6Music, which were seen as pandering to outdated stereotypes. An article in The Guardian quoted her as saying:

There were existing problems with her siding with another of her signings, Brand, against a series of producers as revealed in an interview with Paul Gambaccini by Nicky Campbell on The Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Post-BBC career

In November 2008, Douglas joined the board of trustees at The Sage Gateshead. The following month, she began a new job as the Director of Programming and Business Development at the British subsidiary of Universal Music Group.

Awards A Fellow of The Radio Academy, Douglas was awarded the top prize at the Music Industry Woman of the Year Awards in 2004, and a BASCA (British Association of Composers and Songwriters) Gold Badge in October 2006. Douglas has chaired the Radio Festival Steering Committee on two occasions, and is currently Vice Chair of the Radio Academy. Douglas was awarded an honorary fellowship from the University of Sunderland in 2007.