Harvey Lee
History of the Harvey Lee Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting
Harvey Lee (1950 – 1991) was a leading light in the BPG throughout the 1980s. He worked as the media correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and was successively Guild secretary, annual Awards organiser and BPG Chairman. It was Harvey who launched sponsorship for the annual Awards lunch so that we could progress from the enjoyable but down market events in London cellars to a hugely successful ten years at the Royal Opera House before moving in 1998 to our present venue, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
In June 1991, Harvey was tragically diagnosed with cancer, but this did not stop his passion for journalism; he was working at the TV Festival in Cannes, France, only a couple of weeks before he died at the appallingly early age of 41, leaving a wife and two young daughters. The Guild responded by raising a benefit for the family and instituting the ‘Harvey Lee Award’ in his memory. It was agreed that it should be presented to an individual or a group for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting and that each year’s winner should be decided, after due discussion, by the Guild’s Executive Committee.
The Harvey Lee Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting was first awarded in 1992 and has been presented by Harvey’s wife Marilyn every year since.
List of Winners Harvey Lee Award
1992: John Tusa, former head of BBC World Service
1993: David Hatch, former Managing Director, BBC Radio
1996: Charles Wheeler, BBC Journalist
1997: Michael Grade, Chief Executive, Channel 4
1998: Michael Wearing, Head of Drama Serials, BBC Television
1999: News At Ten (ITN for ITV)
2000: Cilla Black, Entertainer
2001: Ted Childs, Executive producer, Inspector Morse
2002: Jim Moir, former BBC Head of Light Entertainment and Controller, Radio 2
2003: Brian Lapping, Journalist and founder Brook Lapping
2004: Greg Dyke, former Director-General, BBC
2005: Sir Denis Forman: former Chairman and Managing Director, Granada Television
2006: Melvyn Bragg, Producer/Presenter, The South Bank Show
2007: Anne Wood, Ragdoll Productions
2008: Phil Redmond, Founder & Chief Executive, Mersey Television (Grange Hill, BBC One; Brookside, Channel 4; Hollyoaks, Channel 4)
2009: Sir David Frost, Broadcaster and Producer
2010: Sir Terry Wogan, Broadcaster
Harvey Lee speaks to Sue Cook about the state of UK television (BPG Awards 1990)
