Danny Cohen
Encyclopedia
Danny Cohen is the current Controller of BBC One
, the BBC's flagship television channel in the United Kingdom. He is the youngest person to be appointed as Controller of the channel.
, an independent school
for boys in the City of London
. Cohen attended university at Lady Margaret Hall college, University of Oxford
, where he was awarded a BA Honours Double First in English Literature.
, Supernanny
, Being Human
, Blood Sweat and Takeaways, Coming of Age, Him and Her
, Lee Nelson's Well Good Show
, Mongrels
, Russell Howard's Good News
and Women, Weddings, War and Me.
Between May 2007 and October 2010, he was the Controller of BBC Three
.
During his tenureship of BBC Three, the channel increased its share of 16-34 year old viewers by 58% and won Digital Channel of the Year at the Edinburgh International TV Festival in two out of three years – 2008 and 2010.
His BBC Three commissions included the BAFTA nominated Blood, Sweat and T-shirts
and follow-up series Blood, Sweat and Takeaways, The Undercover Princes, Britain's Missing Top Model, The World's Strictest Parents, The Adult Season, Russell Howard's Good News, Young Voter's Question Time, Stacey Dooley Investigates, Lip Service
, Lee Nelson's Well Good Show
and Being Human
.
Alongside these commissions, he also acquired Summer Heights High
from Australia and built a strong following for U.S. animation Family Guy
. He also revamped the hourly bulletins 60 Seconds
adding a World News update, and hired Tasmin Lucia Khan
as the face of news.
In February 2008, The Times
newspaper described Cohen as "the boy wonder of British television".
In January 2009, the Royal Television Society's magazine Television wrote an article about Cohen which posed the question of whether "the 34 year-old wunderkind" would be Director General of the BBC by his early forties.
Prior to this, Cohen worked at Channel 4
in the UK in various roles including Head of Documentaries, Head of Factual Entertainment and Head of E4. His television commissions at Channel 4 included the BAFTA award-winning Skins
, RTS Award-winner Supernanny
, the BAFTA-nominated The Trial of Tony Blair, Cutting Edge
, The Great British UFO Hoax, The Games, The Inbetweeners
, and the BAFTA award-winning Fonejacker
.
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, the BBC's flagship television channel in the United Kingdom. He is the youngest person to be appointed as Controller of the channel.
Education
Cohen attended a Jewish primary school in north London, followed by the City of London SchoolCity of London School
The City of London School is a boys' independent day school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London, England. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls and the co-educational City of London Freemen's School...
, an independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
for boys in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. Cohen attended university at Lady Margaret Hall college, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, where he was awarded a BA Honours Double First in English Literature.
Career
Cohen's television commissions have included SkinsSkins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
, Supernanny
Supernanny
Supernanny is a reality TV programme which originated in the United Kingdom about parents struggling with their children's behaviour. The UK version has aired on Channel 4 with E4 showing repeats since 2004. The program returned in 2010...
, Being Human
Being Human (TV series)
Being Human is a British supernatural drama television series. It was created and written by Toby Whithouse and is currently broadcast on BBC Three. The show blends elements of flatshare comedy and horror drama...
, Blood Sweat and Takeaways, Coming of Age, Him and Her
Him & Her (TV series)
Him & Her is a British television sitcom about a lazy twentysomething couple. It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Three on 6 September 2010. It is written by Stefan Golaszewski and stars Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani. The theme tune is the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang" by Lulu.The...
, Lee Nelson's Well Good Show
Lee Nelson's Well Good Show
Lee Nelson's Well Good Show is a British comedy sketch show, written and presented by Simon Brodkin, and produced by Avalon Television for BBC Three. It features Brodkin hosting a studio based show as his comedy character Lee Nelson, a happy-go-lucky chav, and also features television sketches of...
, Mongrels
Mongrels (TV series)
Mongrels, formerly known under the working titles of We Are Mongrels and The Un-Natural World, is a British puppet-based situation comedy series first broadcast on BBC Three between 22 June and 10 August 2010, with a making-of documentary entitled "Mongrels Uncovered" broadcast on 11 August 2010...
, Russell Howard's Good News
Russell Howard's Good News
Russell Howard's Good News is a British comedy and topical news show broadcast on BBC Three and, since the show's fourth series, BBC HD. Hosted by comedian Russell Howard, he offers his commentary on the news of the week using mostly standup, but including sketches and guest appearances from people...
and Women, Weddings, War and Me.
Between May 2007 and October 2010, he was the Controller of BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
.
During his tenureship of BBC Three, the channel increased its share of 16-34 year old viewers by 58% and won Digital Channel of the Year at the Edinburgh International TV Festival in two out of three years – 2008 and 2010.
His BBC Three commissions included the BAFTA nominated Blood, Sweat and T-shirts
Blood, Sweat and T-shirts
Blood, Sweat and T-shirts is a British TV documentary series, broadcast in 2008 on BBC Three.The series followed six British fashion consumers aged between 20 and 24 as they travelled to India to live and work alongside Indian garment workers, making clothes destined for sale in British high-street...
and follow-up series Blood, Sweat and Takeaways, The Undercover Princes, Britain's Missing Top Model, The World's Strictest Parents, The Adult Season, Russell Howard's Good News, Young Voter's Question Time, Stacey Dooley Investigates, Lip Service
Lip Service (TV series)
Lip Service was a programme broadcast in the UK on ITV2.Holly Willoughby, of ITV's Dancing on Ice, and Spencer Brown take a look at the best, weirdest and funniest bits from celebrity chat shows around the world....
, Lee Nelson's Well Good Show
Lee Nelson's Well Good Show
Lee Nelson's Well Good Show is a British comedy sketch show, written and presented by Simon Brodkin, and produced by Avalon Television for BBC Three. It features Brodkin hosting a studio based show as his comedy character Lee Nelson, a happy-go-lucky chav, and also features television sketches of...
and Being Human
Being Human (TV series)
Being Human is a British supernatural drama television series. It was created and written by Toby Whithouse and is currently broadcast on BBC Three. The show blends elements of flatshare comedy and horror drama...
.
Alongside these commissions, he also acquired Summer Heights High
Summer Heights High
Summer Heights High is a Logie Award-winning Australian television mockumentary series written by and starring Chris Lilley. It is a parody of high-school life epitomised by its three protagonists: effeminate and megalomaniacal "Director of Performing Arts" Mr G; self-absorbed, privileged teenager...
from Australia and built a strong following for U.S. animation Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
. He also revamped the hourly bulletins 60 Seconds
60 Seconds
60 Seconds is the news programme running between shows on BBC Three. The weekday presenter is Sam Naz with weekend bulletins presented by Claudia-Liza Armah....
adding a World News update, and hired Tasmin Lucia Khan
Tasmin Lucia Khan
Tasmin Lucia Khan is a British journalist and news presenter for ITV breakfast show Daybreak. She also presents a news bulletin for the Lorraine programme on ITV. She is a former presenter of BBC Three's hourly news bulletin, 60 Seconds, and presented E24 on the rolling news channel BBC News...
as the face of news.
In February 2008, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper described Cohen as "the boy wonder of British television".
In January 2009, the Royal Television Society's magazine Television wrote an article about Cohen which posed the question of whether "the 34 year-old wunderkind" would be Director General of the BBC by his early forties.
Prior to this, Cohen worked at Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in the UK in various roles including Head of Documentaries, Head of Factual Entertainment and Head of E4. His television commissions at Channel 4 included the BAFTA award-winning Skins
Skins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
, RTS Award-winner Supernanny
Supernanny
Supernanny is a reality TV programme which originated in the United Kingdom about parents struggling with their children's behaviour. The UK version has aired on Channel 4 with E4 showing repeats since 2004. The program returned in 2010...
, the BAFTA-nominated The Trial of Tony Blair, Cutting Edge
Cutting Edge (Channel 4 TV series)
Cutting Edge is a British TV documentary series broadcast by Channel 4, it has been its flagship documentary series since 1990 that focuses on political and social issues.-Graham Taylor: The Impossible Job:Original airdate: 24 January 1994...
, The Great British UFO Hoax, The Games, The Inbetweeners
The Inbetweeners
The Inbetweeners is a British sitcom which aired for three series from 2008 to 2010 on E4. Created and written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, the show follows the life of suburban teenager Will , and three of his friends at the fictional Rudge Park Comprehensive. The Inbetweeners Movie was...
, and the BAFTA award-winning Fonejacker
Fonejacker
Fonejacker is a British comedy programme broadcast on E4 featuring a series of prank calls involving a number of different characters performed by British Iranian television actor Kayvan Novak. It first appeared in May 2006, although it did not become a full series until 2007.The first series began...
.