Channel 4 privatisation

Now that the threat of privatisation is no longer looming, Alex Mahon can focus on other items in the Channel 4 in-tray: recovering from the economic downturn; accelerating its digital strategy; and coming up with new hits.

In a wide-ranging interview that covered everything from company culture to the channel’s relationship with government and industry partners, Mahon first addressed the struggles of the UK’s indie sector.

John McVay, the Chief Executive of Pact, speaks for many in the TV sector when he urges Lucy Frazer, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport since February, to remain in her post for the foreseeable future. “My main plea is, ‘Can you stick around a bit, please,” he said.

Ask Alex Mahon to name the best bits about her job and without hesitation she says it’s when outstanding programmes receive the recognition they deserve. It could be a breakthrough comedy such as Derry Girls or Russell T Davies’s bittersweet It’s a Sin – or the recent Cannes Grand Prix winner, Film4’s The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer’s German-language Holocaust film based on the Martin Amis novel.

When, at the beginning of November last year, Channel 4 celebrated its 40th anniversary with a lavish party, complete with a sit-down dinner, at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, many of those attending wondered if they were witnessing the end of an era.