My friend Ashley Hill, who has died aged 80, was one of the most admired planners and schedulers in the television business, choosing programmes to commission or buy and then deciding when and where they should be shown.
Those two jobs bring no screen credits but are hugely important in terms of shaping a TV channel’s output. This Ashley did first at BBC Two and later at British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB), Channel 4 and Channel 5. Michael Grade, the former chief executive of Channel 4, no mean scheduler himself, was among Ashley’s many admirers, and felt he was one of the best in the business.
Ashley was born in Cardiff to Charles Hill, who, with the help of his wife, Eileen (nee Tremlett), was a farmer, butcher and publican. Ashley went to Howardian high school for boys in Cardiff, then graduated with a law degree from UCL, where he met Pauline Conran, an administrative assistant there. They married in 1968.
After graduation Ashley joined Granada TV as a researcher. In 1970 he became a graduate administration trainee at the BBC, and by 1978 had been appointed as a planning manager at BBC Two, where we worked together. In 1984 he became head of planning there, taking over from me when I was promoted. At BBC Two Ashley was influential in the commissioning and scheduling of an outstanding mixture of drama, music, art and documentaries, including Shock of the New, The Young Ones, Not the Nine O’Clock News and the channel’s substantial coverage of snooker.
In 1988 he moved to BSB as a senior planner, then to Channel 4 in 1991 as head of programme planning. Finally, in 1997, he became director of broadcasting at Channel 5, where he stayed until retiring in 2004.
Ashley’s success – in his career as in his personal life – was down to a mixture of warmth, fun, common sense and integrity that endeared him to so many. He enjoyed life – and especially wine, food, theatre and cricket. Often the rain affected cricket matches we went to were the most enjoyable because the chat with him was so good.
He is survived by Pauline, their three sons, Christopher, Stephen and Peter, and five grandchildren.
