Corden & Jones 25th most powerful in the media
Gavin & Stacey writers James Corden and Ruth Jones have been named by MediaGuardian as jointly the 25th most powerful people operating within the UK media industry. The annual MediaGuardian 100 published today, which aims to provide a snapshot of the top one hundred individuals who run or influence UK media, comments that "Corden and Jones now have the sort of opportunities open to them that were enjoyed by Little Britain's creators, Matt Lucas and David Walliams. They can do pretty much anything they want."
There is likely to be some suprise at how high up the list the comedy duo have been placed. The MediaGuardian panel has put them higher in the list than industry figures like Rebekah Wade (editor of The Sun), Channel 4 boss Julian Bellamy and media mogul Richard Desmond.
The other people from the comedy and entertainment sector listed in the top 100 this year are:
9: Patrick McKenna, the little-known but very powerful venture capitalist. "McKenna, who established media investment company Ingenious in 1998, has advised independent producers including Have I Got News For You producer Hat Trick, backed films such as Hot Fuzz and advised the likes of David and Victoria Beckham."
15: Peter Fincham, the new director of television at ITV. Formerly a comedy producer, Fincham has been behind such hits as The Day Today, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, I'm Alan Partridge, Smack the Pony, Da Ali G Show and Green Wing. Fincham now has £1bn of ITV's money to spend - how much of it will end up on comedy? Quite a lot hopefully.
53: Paul Jackson, the director of entertainment and comedy at ITV. The paper says: "His TV career spans four decades, with stints as BBC head of entertainment and director of programmes at Carlton, working on shows such as Two Ronnies, The Young Ones, Red Dwarf and Saturday Live."
54: Stephen Fry, the QI presenter and general comedy legend. MediaGuardian says: "Stephen Fry is a one-man multimedia content provider spanning television, radio, print and online. Fry boasts that rarest of combinations - he brings credibility to a project and big audiences as well."
58: Jeremy Clarkson. "The Top Gear man is powerful enough to speak his mind about the BBC without fear of a comeback, criticising health and safety rules or publicly ruling out a switch of the show from BBC2 to BBC1."
74: Henry Normal, the executive producer at Baby Cow Productions. His listing explains: "Henry Normal is half of one of the most successful comedy factories in UK television, Baby Cow, home to Gavin and Stacey, The Mighty Boosh and Nighty Night."
99: Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, the panel comments: "This time last year Ant and Dec were two of the most important faces at ITV. They still are, so why the slide down this year's MediaGuardian 100? Two words: Jiggy Bank."
The full list, which this year is headed by Google bosses Larry Page and Sergey Brin, can be viewed on the Guardian website