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Helen Boaden is the current director of BBC News and Current Affairs. This role incorporates controlling all of the BBC's news output across all formats along with current affairs documentaries including programmes such as Newsnight and Panorama.

Helen was born in Colchester, Essex on March 1 1956, and grew up in Essex. She went to school at the Colchester County High School for Girls. She studied at the University of Sussex, gaining a BA Hons in English Literature. She started as a journalist with the New York radio station WBAI in 1979. She returned to the UK and took a course in Radio Journalism at the London College of Printing (now the London College of Communication). She worked at Radio Tees and Radio Aire. In 1983, she joined the BBC as a news producer with Radio Leeds. From there, she joined Radio 4 as a reporter then Editor (in 1991) of File on 4. From there she worked from the BBC in Manchester as a presenter for Woman's Hour. She presented other documentaries for Radio 4, and also for the Brass Tacks political programme on BBC TWO. In 1997, she became the BBC's Head of Business Programmes, then in 1998 she became Head of Current Affairs - the first female to hold this position. In 1999, she gained an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She was Controller of Radio 4 from March 2000 until September 20 2004, being superseded by Mark Damazer. She became Controller of BBC7 in 2002, when the station commenced. She superseded Richard Sambrook in 2004.

She appeared on the 35th anniversary edition of Just A Minute in 2003 as a guest subject setter. The subject she set was why Just a Minute has lasted so long.

She has won Sony Awards for a programme she made on AIDS in Africa, and bullying in Feltham Young Offenders Institution when at File on 4. Radio 4 won the Gold Award for Station of the Year in 2003 and 2004. In 1990, she won awards from the Industrial Society for her work on safety standards in the oil industry. She has honorary degrees from Suffolk College, the University of Sussex, and the University of York. She is on the committee of the Sony Radio Academy.

She has a holiday home in Yorkshire. Her husband, Stephen Burley, works for the Evening Standard.

• BBC Biography
• BBC Blog
• Becomes Controller of BBC News
• Honorary degree from Suffolk College in 2002
• Receiving Doctor of Letters from University of Sussex on July 18th 2003
• Receiving an honorary degree from Greg Dyke, Chancellor of the University of York on December 3rd 2004

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