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Monday, 8 December 2014 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat continues his steady rise up through the ranks of the Media Guardian's top 100 most powerful people in UK Media.

The writer and producer comes in at number 84 in this years chart, a rise of three places from the 2013 list. Moffat entered the chart in 2011 as number 92.

The list, which has been running since 2001, attempts to quantify the people with the most influence over the British media and is complied by a team of judges drawn from across the industry.
The debate is not whether Moffat warrants inclusion, but which of his BBC1 shows is more important. Doctor Who wins in terms of sheer volume, plus there was the 50th anniversary special and Peter Capaldi’s debut in the lead role. But it was Sherlock (reinvented by Moffat with Mark Gatiss) that won a hat-trick of Emmys, and it is hard even for a time lord to outshine the star power of its leads, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Not only are they two of BBC1’s most important dramas, they are also among the biggest earners of the corporation’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide.
Other BBC personnel listed include the current controller of BBC Drama commissioning Ben Stephenson at number 71, controller of BBC One, Charlotte Moore, at number 25, and the Director of BBC Television, Danny Cohen at number 12. The current Chief Executive of the BBC, Director General Tony Hall was the top British listing coming in an number 4 while the new head of the BBC Trust, the governing body of the BBC, Rona Fairhead, was number 17.

The head of the BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, Tim Davie, and the man ultimately responsible for selling Doctor Who around the world, was number 42.

The most influential actress is deemed to be Sheridan Smith at number 62. The former Big Finish actress was lauded for he role playing Cilla Black in the recent ITV biopic.

The top three places in the list were taken by the heads of Google, Facebook and Apple respectively.




FILTER: - People