Ian Trethowan

Sir James Ian Raley Trethowan (1922-1990) was Director-General between 1977 and 1982.

Trethowan left school aged 16 to join the Daily Sketch as an office boy. He became a print journalist then a political broadcaster for ITN. He joined the BBC in 1963 as a parliamentary commentator, fronting parliamentary magazine programme Gallery.

He was the first Managing Director of Radio in the new era of Radios 1-4 in 1967. He took over as Director-General in 1977, a time of shrinking Licence Fee income and criticism from the Government and the Annan Report. He was committed to political impartiality despite being a member of the Conservative Party and defended ITV's controversial Death on the Rock broadcast.

He was described as an intelligent, warm and genial man. He survived a heart attack in 1979 and stayed in office until he was 60. Afterwards, he served on the board of many organisations, including Thames Television and the British Council. He died of motor neurone disease.