Samir

The first 'broadcaster' to chair the BBC since Michael Grade, Samir Shah, 71 (Latymer Upper School, Geography and Maths at the University of Hull, D Phil, St Catherine’s College, Oxford) was brought into the BBC from LWT by John Birt to run tv current affairs in 1987. He left in 1998, having acquired enough funds to buy indie Juniper TV from Michael Wills, another LWT colleague just elected to Parliament. As CEO of Juniper, he was invited to be a BBC Non-Exec by Mark Thompson in 2007. 

His brother, Mohit Bakaya, is Controller of Radio 4. His sister, Monisha Shah, a former executive at BBC Worldwide, is now a serial non-exec, and a member of the Ofcom Content Board.  In 2008 Dr Shah said that the BBC's scale and culture created a "monolithic posture that makes it appear anti-competitive". 

Samir was born in Aurangabad and came to the UK aged 8. After university, he joined LWT's Weekend World team as a researcher in 1979. On his interview panel - Greg Dyke.  Peter Mandelson joined Weekend World in 1982, from Lambeth Council; he overlapped with Samir at St Catherine's, Oxford.

He was awarded a CBE in the 2019 Birthday Honours list for services to Television and Heritage. From 2104 to 2022 he was chair of The Geffrye, Museum of the Home. From 2005 to 2014, he was a Trustee, then Deputy Chair, of the V&A. He was a director of the Gilbert Trust for The Arts from 2008 to 2016. He is a former Chair of the Runnymede Trust (1999 to 2009) and a Trustee of Reprieve (2014 to 2020)  He was Chair of Screen West Midlands (2008-2011). From 2004-2007, Samir was a Trustee of the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture.

In 2019, he was appointed Visiting Professor of Creative Media, Oxford University (Faculty of English). In 2006 Samir was appointed a Special Professor in Post Conflict Studies in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures at the University of Nottingham.

Samir and his wife Belkis live not far from Wandsworth Common; they are both directors of Juniper Communications. Belkis also works in 'peace education', with the Prem Rawat Foundation. 

Will Samir still get to present his latest piece of research, looking at BBC coverage of immigration issues, commissioned by his old Weekend World colleague, David Jordan ?  How will he handle John Nicholson of the SNP, no fan of Birtism, at the Culture Select Committee appointment hearing ?