From WWE Marketing Manager to U.K.’s New Culture Secretary: 5 Things You Need to Know About Michelle Donelan
variety.comK.J. Yossman Late Tuesday evening local time, Michelle Donelan was appointed the U.K.’s latest secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) by incoming Prime Minister Liz Truss (herself only elected on Monday.) As Donelan steps into her new role – becoming the tenth culture secretary in as many years – she’ll have to hit the ground running.
The DCMS is a vast department that covers everything from the U.K.’s film and television industries to theater, music, tourism, internet safety and sports, including the oversight of major events as disparate as the Eurovision Song Contest, the soccer UEFA Champions League and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Despite her commitment to widening access to the arts, Donelan’s predecessor, Nadine Dorries, was widely disliked by much of the U.K.
screen industry, largely due to her pledge to privatize public broadcaster Channel 4 and revoke the BBC’s license fee, the annual levy paid by anyone who watches live television in the U.K.
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