Tessa Sarah Ross CBE (born 1961), is a BAFTA award winning UK film executive who is the Controller of Film and Drama at Channel 4. She is also a director of the Royal National Theatre and a governor of the National Film and Television School.She was born in London and educated at Westminster School and Somerville College, Oxford where she read Oriental Studies. In 1986 she became a literary agent and in 1988 a script editor at BBC Scotland. In 1990 she was appointed head of development at British Screen and in 1993 head of drama for the BBC independent commissioning group. In 2002 she became head of Film4 and in 2004 head of drama at Channel 4.She has been the executive producer of several notable British films including; Billy Elliot (2000), The Last King of Scotland (2006), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Four Lions (2010) and The Iron Lady (2011). In the 2010 New Year Honours she was awarded the CBE for services to broadcasting. At the 66th British Academy Film Awards on 10 February 2013 she received the award for 'Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema' that is presented annually in honour of Michael Balcon. The award was presented to her by the director Danny Boyle.In February 2013 she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.
She was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2010 Queen's New Years Honours List for her services to Broadcasting. She is the Controller of Film and Drama at Channel 4.
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In May 2009 was named by 'Time' magazine as one of the hundred most influential people in the world.
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