Controller of BBC Radio 2 resigns

In the latest twist in the Sachsgate scandal engulfing the BBC, the controller of Radio 2 Europe's biggest and most popular radio station, has resigned.

Lesley Douglas, 45, was the controller of Radio 2, BBC 6 Music and the controller of popular music who had been running the music and entertainment station for 8 years. She also launched digital music station 6 Music, which was caught up in a deception scandal of its own last year. She had been with the corporation her entire career.

Ms Douglas said she took responsibility for what happend on Russell Brand's Saturday night Radio 2 show as it happened "on my watch". She was a much respected figure in the UK radio industry and music industry and was credited with the creative renewal of the music and entertainment network. Bringing in a host of younger personalities from TV alongside retaining the network's appeal to its core older listeners whilst securing strategy for the eventual replacement of long term breakfast host Terry Wogan by recruiting big name talent like Chris Evans and Jonathan Ross.

Radio 2 is listened to by 26 per cent of all adults in the UK every week and is listened to for a total of 160 586 000 hours per week and has had a long tradition for being BBC Radio's home of MOR music and chat aimed at over 30's. The inclusion by Ms Douglas of Mr Brand on its schedules had raised eyebrows in some quarters considering it is long considered a mainstay of middle england with personalities such as 70 year old Terry Wogan, 57 year old Ken Bruce and 58 year old Sarah Kennedy alongside a diverse roster of names.

Radio 2 has stormed ahead in the audience figures, leaving commercial stations in disarray. This success has been put down to the focus on popular personalities and a wide ranging and deep music policy in the face of commercial stations tightening playlists, cutting back on speech from personalities and focussing too heavily on market research to form their output. Ms Douglas approach of hiring big names and letting take a more individual approach will be missed in an industry more focussed on consolidation and commercial pressures.

The BBC has seen many senior executives leave control of its radio and tv networks over the last year in various on air scandals that have errupted into PR disasters threatening to engulf the most senior levels of the corporation.