BBC Director Of Sport And An Influential Lady- Barbara Slater

Barbara Slater took up her role as Director of Sport in April 2009.

She had previously been Head of Production and Head of General Sports for the department.

Her responsibilities include working with governing bodies to retain a broad portfolio of broadcasting rights, overseeing the planning and coverage of major sporting events and leading the sports journalism operation at BBC Sport’s home in Salford.

Barbara was responsible for the BBC’s acclaimed cross-platform coverage of the London Olympic Games - the most watched TV event in UK broadcasting history. Barbara was awarded the ‘Inspirational Woman Prize’ at the Women in Film and Television Awards in recognition of this achievement and has since been appointed as an adviser to the IOC Radio and Television Commission and the UK’s Sports Business Council.

Barbara joined the BBC in 1983 as a trainee assistant producer in the Natural History Unit in Bristol, but has spent most of her career as a producer in BBC Sport, specialising in outside broadcasts and overseeing the production of a range of sports including tennis and golf. Barbara was awarded the OBE in 2014 for her services to sports broadcasting.

She grew up in Birmingham, and was an international gymnast, competing for Great Britain at the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976. Barbara is married with three children.