Francesca Mary Unsworth was born on 29 December 1957 and is a British journalist and media executive.
15 Facts About Fran Unsworth
2.
Fran Unsworth studied drama at the University of Manchester but was unable to get into a drama school and so switched careers to publishing in London.
3.
Fran Unsworth worked as a producer on The World at One and PM while at Radio 4.
4.
Fran Unsworth moved to the BBC's Newsgathering Department in 1993, where she had responsibility for UK domestic news, and was a producer and editor for the BBC One O'Clock News and the BBC Six O'Clock News.
5.
In December 2005, Fran Unsworth appeared on the BBC's Newswatch programme, responding to accusations of double standards in BBC News reporting of racial crimes when white people were the victims.
6.
Fran Unsworth admitted the case had not been covered sufficiently and that there had been space to do so.
7.
Fran Unsworth ceased working in this role in August 2013 and was appointed deputy director of News and Current Affairs.
8.
In November 2013, Fran Unsworth was replaced as Head of Newsgathering by Jonathan Munro.
9.
Fran Unsworth apologised to Richard and stated that "there were elements of its coverage that should have been handled differently" but criticised the ruling as an attack on liberty and press freedoms.
10.
Fran Unsworth defended the pay gap between Grace and the BBC's North America editor Jon Sopel as Sopel was "on air twice as much" and that "The China job [is] a more features-based agenda".
11.
Gracie reported that Fran Unsworth had privately commented to a colleague that the pay gap was due to her being part-time.
12.
Fran Unsworth denied this stating "I did the contract, I knew she wasn't" but apologised to her for causing a 'misunderstanding' due to 'loose' language.
13.
In September 2021, it was announced that Fran Unsworth will leave the BBC in 2022 after 40 years.
14.
Fran Unsworth was president of the Society of Editors between 2011 and 2012, and is a board member of the organisation.
15.
Fran Unsworth is a board member of the European Union's Erasmus Mundus programme.