Advent Calendar Day 14

... And we're back.

Day Fourteen

Zai Bennett

So who's this odd-looking little weasel, then? He's the controller of BBC Three (as of December 2010). His career has been a laughable stroll through some of the UK's worst idiot fare, from Channel 5, and most of the past decade controlling programming across ITV's digital channels. Hardly fucking world-beating.

Since being employed by the BBC, he's starting ripping the channel apart. Okay, so he may have axed Two Pints of Lager and Coming of Age, but he's also recently axed Ideal, which was deservedly building on its viewer base with every series, and, controversially, some may say criminally, Doctor Who Confidential. The latter act from the pudding-faced executive sparked an online petition, currently standing at just under 56,000 signatures. Bennett's response, whilst dreaming up new brainless fodder to replace it with aimed at thick people, was that he wanted to clear the way for original British content. Which Doctor Who Confidential was. The BBC Trust is to make a final decision in the new year, but no doubt they'll uphold the decision and stand idly by as Bennett floods what's left of the channel with tabloid shite.

In the meantime, one of his latest decisions is to commission a new sitcom written by and starring unshaven toff unfunnyman Jack "Advent Day One" Whitehall. Oh, and he's also guaranteed Russell Howard's Ego Vehicle to run until at least 2013. The man must be stopped before he drags BBC Three down to the levels of ITV2 and beyond. The channel could be, no, should be great. I fear that under this man, it will be anything but.

Before we move on, I must share with you his Wikipedia entry (as it currently reads):

Zai Bennett

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zai Bennett is Controller of BBC Three.^[1]

Career

Zai Bennett started his career in 1995 in the post room at Carlton Television, then worked as presentation scheduler

for the launch of Channel 5 in 1997. He worked for ITV from 1998 in a number of roles including Head of Programme

Strategy, ITV Digital Channels and ITV2 Programming and Acquisitions Manager. He was Controller of ITV2 from

2006 – 2009. In April 2010 he was appointed ITV's Director of Digital Channels and Acquisitions, where he was

responsible for overseeing editorial content on ITV's digital channels (ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and the CITV channel), including

all commissioning and scheduling across the channels. In December 2010 the BBC announced that he is to become

Controller of BBC Three in 2011. After settling into this position he commenced cancelling every good comedy and

ruining BBC 3. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Sometimes, people are wonderful.