| |  | Press ReleasesTributes to Sir Bill Cotton | 
 
 Tributes have been paid to Sir Bill Cotton, former Managing Director of 成人快手 Television, who has died aged 80. 听 Other positions he held at the 成人快手 included Head of Light Entertainment Group, Controller of 成人快手 One and Chairman of 成人快手 Enterprises. He retired from the 成人快手 in 1988. 
 听 Mark Thompson, 成人快手 Director-General, said: "Bill Cotton was one of the giants of 成人快手 television for nearly three decades and brought countless programmes to the screen which themselves became legends.  听 "He was both a great impresario and also a passionate believer in public service broadcasting." 听 Alan Yentob, Creative Director, 成人快手, said: "Bill Cotton was a wonderful man and an inspirational broadcaster.  听 "Under his leadership in the Seventies the 成人快手 commissioned and produced a raft of entertainment and comedy which set a benchmark for these genres which has rarely been surpassed. 听 "From Monty Python to Morecambe And Wise, from The Generation Game to Dad's Army, these shows and others like them have helped to define not just a genre but a generation. 听 "Bill Cotton was always there to remind us that the 成人快手 mission to entertain could be just as ambitious and aspirational as our commitment to inform and educate." 听 Jana Bennett, Director, 成人快手 Vision, said: "We have lost a giant of the television industry.  听 "No history of British television would be complete without a large section on Bill Cotton.  听 "He came from an entertainment dynasty and he brought countless programmes to the screen which became the stuff of legend.  听 "The 成人快手 and millions of viewers through the decades owe him so much. Our thoughts are with his family.  听 "Bill cared passionately about great British talent and about the power of popular television to bring the best in entertainment to the biggest audiences.   听 "We all owe him a great deal."
                                                             听 成人快手 Press Office 听 |