The BBC is paying one of its senior executives an astonishing £235,000 a year to work from home on ‘special projects’.
- Janice Hadlow is based at her home in Bath rather than her London office
- 57-year-old was given ‘consolation prize’ role after leaving BBC2 last year
- She ‘develops cross-platform programming, seasons and other TV events’
- Ironically, she commissioned W1A – which pokes fun at bizarre Corporation jobs – while at BBC2
Janice Hadlow, the Corporation’s ‘Controller of Seasons and Special Projects’, receives the huge salary despite being based largely at her home in Bath rather than her office in London.
Ms Hadlow, 57, was previously the Controller of BBC2 but stepped down at the beginning of last year.
According to insiders she was allowed to keep her salary despite being sidelined, with a new job created for her as a ‘consolation prize’.
Ironically, among the shows she commissioned during her time at BBC2 was spoof series W1A, which poked fun at highly paid Corporation bosses with bizarre job titles.
Ms Hadlow’s new role is to ‘develop cross-platform programming, seasons and other major TV events’.
But instead of having to make the long commute to her office on the 6th floor of London’s New Broadcasting House every morning, she is based at her £1.8 million townhouse just a short distance from Bath’s Royal Crescent.
Unusually for such a senior executive, she also does not have a deputy, a department or a full-time PA.
Linda Tate, a PA who answered the phone for Ms Hadlow at New Broadcasting House said on Sunday when we tried to reach her: ‘She tends to work from home in her current role. She now looks after special projects, so she’s really based out of the office. She comes in occasionally but not very often these days.’
One Corporation source said: ‘At the BBC, you are allowed to remain on the same salary if you move jobs. This is why Janice Hadlow is still paid nearly £20,000 a month. She’s been allowed to hang on to the salary she had as BBC2 Controller.
‘We think part of the reason she was allowed to stay on with this ridiculous job title was because [Director-General] Tony Hall knows it is important to have a certain number of senior women executives.’ Another source said that, because Ms Hadlow has no deputy to stand in when she is away, her role cannot be considered that important, adding: ‘She doesn’t have the power to commission anything.’
Significantly, since taking on the job in February 2014, Ms Hadlow has claimed no expenses. While this may imply frugality, insiders claim it is proof her job requires little in terms of travel and meetings.
According to the BBC website, Ms Hadlow ‘originates and develops cross-platform programming, seasons and other major TV events, identifying and nurturing ideas that have the potential to work across the BBC’s TV channels.’
Last night, Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘It can’t be right that people are sent to prison after not paying the licence fee when the BBC is handing out £235,000 a year for a job like this.’
BBC staff, who have been warned up to 1,000 jobs may be axed under a restructuring plan, have compared Ms Hadlow’s position with its baffling title to a character from the spoof she commissioned. W1A’s Anna Rampton, played by Sarah Parish, is promoted to ‘Director of Better’ in the show – a job which no one, least of all her, can fathom.
Ms Hadlow, who is married to BBC ‘Head of Specialist Factual’ Martin Davidson and has two children, published a book in summer 2014 about King George III – a project which had nothing to do with her TV job.
Last night a BBC spokesman insisted she had been in the office ‘several times’ in the last fortnight, adding that working from both the office and home ‘isn’t unusual for TV execs’. The spokesman added: ‘Many senior managers at the BBC share PAs, and she has never claimed many expenses and doesn’t feel the need to apologise. She has always been clear that her book was written in her own time.’
A BBC statement later said: ‘Janice Hadlow works full-time for the BBC and is currently working on the forthcoming Civilisation series… and has also been leading the development of a number of major projects, including a season on pop music and a drama series for BBC1.’