Glowing tributes to Sir Bill Cotton (From Harrow Times)

Glowing tributes to Sir Bill Cotton

9:40pm Tuesday 12th August 2008 in

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Tributes have been paid to Sir Bill Cotton who helped to ensure classics like Dad's Army and the Generation Game made it onto British TV screens.

Sir Bill, who retired as Managing Director of Television at the BBC in 1987, died on Monday aged 80 at a hospital in Bournemouth.

He was the BBC's Head of Light Entertainment between 1970 and 1977, overseeing classic shows like The Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise and Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Dad's Army writer David Croft said Sir Bill helped to overcome opposition to the idea of a comedy about the Home Guard while entertainer Bruce Forsyth described how he was persuaded to present a new show called the Generation Game after visiting Sir Bill to discuss a talk show.

Sir Bill, the son of big band leader Billy Cotton, joined the BBC in 1956 as an in-house producer of light entertainment programmes, working on shows including the Billy Cotton Band Show and popular music programme Six-Five Special.

He spent seven years as Head of Light Entertainment before he was promoted to Controller of BBC1, a position he held for four years.

In 1981 he became Managing Director of Television, a title he held until his retirement.

In 1998, Sir Bill was awarded the Academy Fellowship by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta), the highest accolade that can be awarded by the academy.

Forsyth, who received the same honour this year, said it was Sir Bill's idea for him to host the phenomenally successful show, The Generation Game.

"He wanted me to do it very badly and it changed my life," he told the BBC.