- Andy Parfitt
Infobox_Celebrity
name = Andy Parfitt
caption =
birth_date = Birth year and age|1958|
birth_place = Bristol
occupation = Britishradio administrator
salary =
networth =
website =Andrew Parfitt (born October 1958, Bristol), or "Parf Daddy" to the DJs on Radio 1, is the current Controller of
BBC Radio 1 in theUnited Kingdom . He has been in that role since 1998, taking over fromMatthew Bannister . He is also the controller ofBBC Radio 1Xtra ,BBC Asian Network and theBBC 's new offering for Teenagers,BBC Switch .Early life
He went to Ashton Park Comprehensive School on "Blackmoor's Lane" in
Bower Ashton ,Bristol . He then went to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (now an associate college of UWE). From 1978-9, he was the assistant stage manager at the Bristol Arts Centre.Early career
Andy joined the BBC in 1980 working as a Studio Manager. He spent some time with
BFBS in theFalkland Islands , before returning to the UK in 1984. He became a producer inBBC Education in 1985, then joined Radio 4 in 1987 and produced "Pick of the Week" and "Bookshelf". He helped set up Radio 5, and became the network's Assistant Editor in 1989. He joined Radio 1 as Chief Assistant to the Controller in 1993. A year later he was promoted first to Editor, Commissioning and Planning and soon after to Managing Editor. In 1997, he became the network's Deputy Controller when Matthew Bannister was appointed Director of BBC Radio.BBC Management
In March 1998, Parfitt was appointed Controller of Radio 1. During his time as Controller he has refocused the station on a core target audience of 16 to 24 year old listeners. In 2002, Andy oversaw the conception and launch of
BBC 1Xtra , a newdigital radio service for fans of new black music.More recently, Parfitt has been instrumental in changes to the Radio 1 daytime output including the successful appointment of
Chris Moyles as the Radio 1 Breakfast Show host in January 2004, as well as the 2006 re-shuffle which sawColin Murray move to 10pm. This has been coupled with a sustained upsurge inRAJAR ratings with the station topping the all important ten million mark in listership. Although much of this is down to Moyles (who often refers to Parfitt as 'Parf Daddy'), many other shows particularly Scott Mills have seen increases.In July, 2006 Andy was appointed the
BBC 's "Teen Czar". This makes him the head of all Teenage Entertainment- with a view of making sure the BBC offers a wider choice of the 11-25 age group, which recent whitepapers have told the BBC it's lacking in.Despite this, he continues his role of Controller of BBC Radio 1.
In July 2007 Andy Parfitt presented a two part series for BBC Radio 4 entitled "California Dreaming".
In December 2007,
Bob Shennan , the Controller of Five Live moved toChannel 4 to manage its new three radio stations, leaving Andy Parfitt temporarily in charge of Five Live and Five Live Extra and the Asian Network.Censorship
In December 2007, Parfitt was heavily criticised for only authorising a cut version of
The Pogues 'Fairytale of New York ', censoring the words 'slut' and 'faggot'. This decision was later reversed after widespread media coverage, and a decision by sister station Radio 2 to play the track uncensored. [ [http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7150693.stm Radio 1 backs down in Pogues row] -BBC News ]External links
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/biographies/biogs/radio1/andyparfitt.shtml BBC Press Office]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/06_june/26/teens.shtml Developing BBC's Creative Futures]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005/oct/31/mondaymediasection.radio "Guardian" October 2005 article]
* [http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article221739.ece "Independent" May 2005 article]References
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