Tributes have been flooding in for Simon Albury, the UK TV diversity campaigner who ran the Royal Television Society (RTS) for 12 years.
The larger-than-life personality died last week aged 80 after suffering from debilitating health conditions. Figures from the sector have been quick in registering their tributes to a popular, tireless campaigner, who was a regular at industry events.
Speaking to Deadline this morning, RTS CEO Theresa Wise described Albury, who ran the society from 2000 to 2012, as an “absolutely huge personality.” “Personally he touched a lot of people,” she told us. “Many people will say that he helped them in their careers, he was very interested in people and would always look to support them.”
Albury, who was known for his distinctive red glasses and sharp attire, kicked off a decorated, 50-year-long career making current affairs and music shows for the BBC and ITV, while he also founded ITV’s Meridian.
He ran the RTS for 12 years, driving the society forwards during a time of change for the industry. Wise said he will be remembered for expanding the RTS London and Cambridge Conventions and launching the RTS Futures program. He also took on the “society photographer” mantle during his tenure, she explained, and could always be spotted at events due to his glasses. “He was so inimitable that when he retired from the society we had to actually get in photographers who did that for a living,” she added. “He loved to be the ‘photographer of record’.”
Next week’s RTS London event will pay tribute to Albury and a fuller obit will feature in the October RTS Magazine.
After leaving the RTS, Albury chaired the Campaign for Broadcasting Equality. During that time, he campaigned tirelessly for greater diversity in the UK TV industry and pushed frequently for diversity quotas. He regularly contributed to committees on the subject and was hugely popular in industry circles for never giving up, forming a partnership with fellow campaigners such as Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder.
Henry was one of many who took to X to pay tribute, posting a simple: “Simon Albury R.I.P.”
BBC presenter Samir Ahmed said he “saw through all the empty posturing” on diversity. “I’m truly saddened to lose Simon Albury,” she said. “A friend and a genuine fearless champion of diversity.”
Broadcaster Jasmine Dotiwala said the news had “sent shockwaves through the TV and creative industries.”
“We will ensure his impact and legacy are not forgotten,” she added. “Sending love to his family at this incredibly sad time.”
BBC News presenter Alice Bhandhukravi said Albury was “loved and admired by many, and had a huge impact and changed many people’s lives.’
Organizations including the British Urban Film Festival also paid tribute, hailing a “much respected figure in broadcasting and latterly through his diversity campaigning.” “For those who bang the drum for diversity, inclusion and representation – we have lost a soldier though the good fight will continue and BUFF will do everything in our power to ensure that Simon’s unerring consistency to speak truth to power is a quality we should all aspire to as a fitting legacy to the beacon that was Simon Albury,” added the fest on X.
The TV Collective celebrated “the laugh, the speeches, and his red glasses,” and said he had a “special relationship with everyone he knew.”
More tributes can be found below.