Dawn Airey, the ‘fearless’ TV veteran charged with protecting the arts

Former Channel 5 chief is tipped to ‘break things that need to be broken’ as new chair of Arts Council England

When Dawn Airey ran Channel 5, she famously described the channel’s core strengths as the three Fs: “films, football and fucking”.

The comment by the veteran television executive, who has just been appointed chair of Arts Council England (Ace), set the tone for a career defined by boldness and commercial instinct.