Hunt 'does a Thompson'

What is it with TV executives? Just days after Jane Root denied to MediaGuardian that she was leaving Discovery, then promptly confirmed she was within hours, Jay Hunt has been appointed BBC1 controller - three weeks after telling MediaGuardian that she would be staying at Channel Five. When TV executives rule themselves out of jobs, but don't really, it's officially known as "Doing a Thompson" - in honour of Mark Thompson who, when Channel 4 chief executive, ruled himself out of the running for the BBC director general job, only to be appointed soon after. He memorably told journalists he would "turn down any approach" from the BBC. However, after his appointment as BBC chief, Thommo qualified this: "It was what I felt at the time. What made the difference for me between then and now was what Sonia Gandhi would call my inner voice. I just felt, in the end, it was a one-of-a-kind opportunity that I could not pass up." Monkey wonders what Hunt's inner voice is saying today?