We would have liked to raise these issues with BBC executives - but they were unavailable.

"He was incredibly plausible," a BBC executive said on condition of anonymity.

The BBC executives weren't wild about the idea, either.

Two senior BBC executives were under police protection last week after receiving death threats.

Pleased with the outcome, the two showed the 20-minute film to a BBC executive.

These figures will be looked at by BBC executives not the comments on this blog.

BBC executives lobbied hard against the loss of their monopoly - but they weren't the decisive factor.

They have made their point to top BBC executives in forceful terms.

BBC executives quickly counter that today there are more opportunities for writers in weekly series.

But just as BBC executives were congratulating themselves, the sniping began.