BBC boss Entwistle finished before he really got started
George Entwistle had bold plans for the corporation, but his tenure had barely begun when he was embroiled in scandal at the broadcaster
George Entwistle came to the top job at the BBC with 23 years of hands-on experience at the corporation, but it was his ignorance of what was happening below him that caused his downfall after just 54 days.
The 50-year-old did not have an easy time as director-general, taking office just two weeks before the scandal broke over Jimmy Savile, the late BBC star accused of sexually abusing hundreds of children over 40 years.
Entwistle was then dealt a second blow on Friday when the broadcaster's flagship programme, which he once edited, was forced to apologise for wrongly implicating a senior political figure in sex abuse at a children's home.
Announcing his resignation in front of a pack of television cameras outside BBC HQ on Saturday night, Entwistle said he was taking ultimate responsibility for the "unacceptable journalistic standards of the film".
But for many critics it was the perception that he had lost control of the BBC that meant he had to go.
Entwistle was already under pressure after an underwhelming performance before lawmakers last month, where he was asked to explain why a investigation into allegations against Savile was dropped last December.
