The BBC (UK): producing mavericks, past and present

Ever since BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan's infamous comments about the UK government "sexing up" the case for invading Iraq led to the departure of director general Greg Dyke, the BBC has had to be careful about the editorial judgments it makes. But that, says recently departed head of documentaries, Alan Hayling, did not stop his department from being bold.

Something of an undercover expert, the now-indie Hayling's department produced some acclaimed investigatory programs for BBC1, such as Whistleblower, Secret Agent and Secret Policeman. Although the latter (which unearthed examples of racism in the UK police) was commissioned before Hayling's time, he says it's a good indicator of the Corporation's willingness to take risks: "The fact is that there is so much competition you have to take risks to be noticed."

A more recent example that Hayling is proud of is the Mischief season on BBC3, "films which took serious subjects and tried to make them funny and accessible, inspired by movies like Bowling For Columbine and Super Size Me."

The six films, says Hayling, were left-field takes on topics such as female binge drinking, anti-Asian sentiment, dirty hospitals and the depths the TV industry is willing to plumb in the name of entertainment. "We sailed close to the wind with a few of these, but they got great support from within the BBC." Mischief has been commissioned for a second season.

Hayling's risk taking is of an editorial kind - and it's something that marked his career both as an indie and while at Channel 4. But, if risk taking also means a willingness to back epic TV events, then former BBC2 controller Jane Root also rates a mention for supporting Great Britons, Restoration and Who Do You Think You Are?, series which popularized the subjects of national and personal heritage. Now EVP and GM at Discovery US, Root could claim to be the first controller to have given the BBC's second channel a personality.

In terms of ambition, BBC1 has been pushing back the boundaries of factual since Walking With Dinosaurs. Under former BBC1 controller Lorraine Heggessey, the channel took history programming to a new level with the likes of Pyramid and Pompeii: The Last Days, both risk taking in terms of budget, dramatic reconstruction and computer graphics.

Root and Heggessey's successors, Roly Keating and Peter Fincham, have sought to build on that work. Keating, who took up his post in 2004, has backed thought-provoking productions such as The Power of Nightmares and The Secretary Who Stole £4 million, a docudrama that tells the story of the Goldman Sachs secretary who stole from her bosses. But by far his biggest risk was the decision to air Jerry Springer: The Opera, a highly controversial modern opera which boasted 8,000 profanities - a UK TV record.

Keating is also ambitious when it comes to BBC2's broadband agenda. Mixing simulcast programming and a comprehensive catch-up service, he wants the channel to be "far more open and connective. Whatever the broadband revolution means for audiences and channels in the future, we intend to be in the front line."