Ex-BBC Worldwide chief checks in at Burberry

Almost certainly not John Smith's new company car. Photograph: Rex Features

From one national institution to another, long-serving ex-BBC Worldwide chief executive John Smith has been named chief operating officer of Burberry. Monkey doffs its cap to FT gagsmith Ben Fenton for this impeccable payoff: "He is now unique as only top BBC bod with a chequered future rather than a [chequered] past." Boom!