My Father

John Reith is the father of our media age.

Drama was at the heart of the volcanic life of Lord Reith. Through the eyes of his daughter, we see, for the first time, into the personal story of a man who made a legendary contribution to British culture.

Towering at 6'6" tall, Reith was an easy target for a sniper during the First World War, The scar on his cheek, from the wound that almost killed him, heightened his commanding appearance. His immense gifts of oratory and organisation – and his great reserves of energy – stamped their mark on the fledgling BBC. From an office little bigger than a broom cupboard, an institution was formed whose standards to this day have the respect of the world.

Reith's compelling story also includes a perilous wartime journey with his young family across the Atlantic, a stormy relationship with Churchill, the abdication of a king and much more besides.

Larger-than-life, he was a man of excessive contradictions, with the heights of ourtrageous success matched by bitter, black despair. Personal qualities that marked him out as exceptional on the world stage were just as intense in their private infliction of damage on himself and his family.