Alice off

BBC Corporate Affairs supremo Alice Macandrew is leaving, almost exactly on her four-year anniversary in post, with no news on her destination.  

Alice, 54 (Mary Erskine School and MA History at Cambridge University, probably Downing College) is a member of the PR Hall of Fame. She had spells at Broadcast magazine, the FT Newsletter and Euromoney, before partnering at Finsbury PR. There she worked with James Murdoch, and eventually joined Newscorp. She departed in the aftermath of phone-hacking charges (Nick Davies said she had a half-hour shouting match with Rebekah Brooks), to re-emerge at Sky in 2012. Three years on, and she moved to Thomas Cook, only to leave after an 'horrific' time as the company failed.  She came to the BBC from Primark. 

Soon after joining, she was a player in the resolution of Gary Lineker's suspension for social media activities. She's tried to smooth paths to the UK Jewish and Palestinian-supporting communities. 

In a Thomas Cook house mag of 2018 she shared a 'fun fact': "I am 100% Celt - 50% Scottish 50% Irish, no English blood in me, but I don't sound it until I drink. The more gin I drink, the more Scottish I become."