Fran Unsworth

Who is Fran Unsworth?

Francesca Unsworth is a British journalist and media executive, who was appointed Acting Director of News at the BBC in 2012 and is a member of the BBC's executive board.

A graduate at the University of Manchester, Unsworth began her broadcasting career in local radio, working at BBC Radio Leicester and BBC Radio Bristol, before going on to become Producer of Radio 1's Newsbeat. In 1990 she moved to Radio 4 and was based in Washington as a radio producer for the network during the Gulf crisis of 1990-1991. She also worked as a producer on The World At One and PM while at Radio 4. She moved to the BBC's Newsgathering Department in 1993, where she had responsibility for UK domestic news, and was a producer and editor for the BBC One O'Clock News and the BBC Six O'Clock News. Unsworth was appointed Head of Newsgathering in January 2005.

In November 2012, Unsworth was appointed Acting Director of News after the then incumbent, Helen Boaden stepped aside while Nick Pollard prepared his report into the BBC's non-coverage of the sexual abuse perpetuated by Jimmy Savile.