When Lorraine Heggessey became BBC1's first female controller 18 months ago, people called it the hardest job in the world. She wouldn't argue with that, but she would add it's also the best.

"It's a fantastic time to be doing this job," says the former Durham University student. "You have to be an optimist if you do my job. You have to be quite resilient and thick-skinned, and have a vision."

Others have talked of her "nerves of steel, supernatural energy reserves and bloody-mindedness". A chat over a drink before she hosts the launch of Auf Wiedersehen Pet in Newcastle demonstrates that she possesses all of those things.

She took up the post as the BBC was suffering an identity crisis, both within the organisation and in the eyes of viewers. There was a feeling, she admits, that the best it could hope for was a gentle decline as more and more channels became available.

New Director General Greg Dyke appointed her as part of his plan to transform the BBC from old-fashioned Auntie into a slimmed down, viewer-responsible outfit, fit enough to fight for a place in the multi-channel arena.

The word Auntie never passes her lips. That's the old BBC. Halfway through her three-year plan to transform the face of BBC1, she feels confident progress is being made. The ratings back her up. For the first time, her channel is ahead of ITV. That makes her the most powerful person in British TV, the one with her finger on the remote control of the majority of the nation's viewing.

Playing the numbers game isn't the sole object. "Ratings are not the be all and end all of BBC1. There are other considerations. Our remit is not to reach a certain demographic audience. We have to please all of the people some of the time," she says.

"There are series and shows we can nurture and bring back, and will be different from the shows that ITV can do. It's good for us to have a strong ITV and strong competition, but our range is always going to be much broader."

She may not have to produce a schedule to please advertisers but, as a public broadcaster, BBC spending will always be a subject of scrutiny. Just as her decisions will make her the target of sniping from other sections of the media. As someone who trained as a journalist - and was once turned down for a job by The Northern Echo before entering TV - she's understandably irritated when a story about her is factually inaccurate or people embroider the truth.

That same journalistic background also stood her in good stead in making current affairs and factual programmes for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and in the independent sector. She stayed longer than most of her contemporaries as a programme maker, eventually moving from executive producer of Animal Hospital, QED and The Human Body, to running the BBC children's department for two years.

There, she had her first taste of being the public face of BBC Television. She was the one who announced to young viewers on screen that Blue Peter presenter Richard Bacon had been a naughty boy, been caught taking drugs, and had left the series.

The move to a more executive role was prompted partly by family circumstances. With two children, now aged nine and 12, she didn't want to be "on the road" so much. She lives close enough to the BBC to pop home in the afternoons if she's working at night, and mobiles "are a great way to keep in touch".

"I realised there were other ways of having input into the creative process. I hope to inspire people to do their best work," she says.

"I always thought it would be a three-year plan to revitalise BBC1, and we are making headway. Viewers like us more than they did 18 months ago and appreciate what we do, and the ratings are healthy.

"It's really important that the BBC remains a vital part of British broadcasting. We haven't got the schedule I would dearly like yet because we're still building."

Heggessey knows that change can't be achieved overnight. Factual programmes take several years to make. Dramas are years in production. "Now we're getting some of the building blocks, we can afford to take a few more risks. It's a bit like building a house. If you have weak foundations, you can't build on it," she says.

"The viewing public had lost faith and weren't sure they could come to us to feel entertained and stimulated. To me, BBC1 has always been a great British channel and I like making programmes for the widest audience."

She's confident enough to schedule the new series of Auf Wiedersehen Pet against ITV's ratings hit The Forsyte Saga. With the BBC investing more heavily in drama, such clashes are unavoidable. "Not everyone likes period drama and not everyone likes Auf Wiedersehen Pet. That way viewers have a choice. Obviously, I'm hoping more people will watch Auf Wiedersehen Pet."

Not everything has gone her way, like missing out on Pop Idol ("we had talks and they went to ITV"). She's pleased to have found strong drama series successful enough to return, mentioning Judge John Deed, In Deep and Linda Green. She's also proud of recent single dramas like the Irish-set Sinners.

She's overseen the move of the evening news to 10pm and the addition of a fourth weekly edition of EastEnders. "We're not looking for another soap, but some strong series that can run through the year. We have Holby City and Casualty, which run for most of the year, and I'm looking at Mersey Beat too."

She's keen for more big events like the day of programmes looking at the National Health Service. Next up is Test The Nation, the biggest IQ test ever carried out on TV with plenty of audience participation. She hopes it becomes a talking point in offices and shops the morning after, rather like the Who Shot Phil? drama in EastEnders.

Heggessey was happy to return to the North-East to launch Auf Wiedersehen Pet after falling in love with the area when she came up from London for her Durham University interview. She recalls trips to Whitley Bay, camping on Lindisfarne and visiting Newcastle Jazz Festival every year during her university days.

She recognises people tend to think of the BBC as being Southern-based, and premiering a major series such as Auf Wiedersehen Pet in Newcastle is one way of proving otherwise.

"We have come here for the launch, which is absolutely right - rather than accept everything is based in the South. That isn't what we want.

Published: 27/04/2002