10) ALAN YENTOB (TV executive, presenter) - A lifelong BBC employee, Alan Yentob's influence is stamped on just about every managerial post he has held along the way. Following an apprenticeship as a producer on Omnibus - famously producing the David Bowie Cracked Actor edition - he created BBC2 arts strand Arena in 1975 and has his name on the credits of acknowledged classics such as The Private Life Of The Ford Cortina. A brief detour via the Music and Arts department in the mid 1980s led to his elevation in 1987 to the controllership of BBC2. Essentially everything that was good about the channel at the turn of that decade - and indeed pretty much ever since - can be credited to Yentob: Have I Got News For You, Absolutely Fabulous and even Wallace and Grommit were all his commissions. When Jonathan Powell buggered off to Carlton in 1992 the BBC1 job was more or less his by default and Yentob made his mark immediately by wielding the axe on the spectacular flop that was Eldorado and insisting Ab Fab came with him to find a new home on primetime. The upward trajectory of his career came to a screaming halt, however, with the arrival of Greg Dyke at the BBC - many speculating that Greg's energetic and businesslike approach clashed badly with Yentob who at times could be indecisive and disorganised. Since then he has gone back to his arts roots, reinventing himself as a presenter and taking charge of the BBC's drama, entertainment and children's output. With the upper tier of BBC management having imploded so spectacularly of late, we can't help but wonder if it's time for Yentob to step up to the plate once more. He surely deserves nothing less.

9) EUAN KERR (Silhouetted figure, and occasional big hand that encroaches onto the page to cross-out something, or, in short, the Editor of The Beano) - Although the comics industry has been in a nosedive since the Batman films, we still defy you to find anyone resident in the UK who hasn't read The Beano at least once in their life. Currently helmed by the - guffaw! - amusingly named Euan Kerr (say it aloud) we reckon The Beano is still the nation's essential organ; one of the few places left you can go for dad-baiting based chortles, regular input from the legendary 'reader's voice' (via that ubiquitous speech-bubble originating from an off-screen source) and just general low concept knockabout humour. The rumours that The Dandy's on its way out (and the fact that it doesn't have its own website, just a brilliantly envisioned 'embassy' on the excellent http://www.beanotown.com is a cause for concern), makes the The Beano doubly important in our book. Thankfully, then, under Kerr the paper has an editor who recognises the importance of his publication. We're talking no less than National Treasure status here. And with the comic celebrating its 65th last year, no holds were barred as a legion of poorly thought-out no-brain characters from The Beano's first issue were yanked out of retirement to make merry with the current cast, no doubt to the utter bafflement of its core juvenile audience. With no one else doing it, long may Kerr and his pals at the DC Thomson fun factory continue scribing innocent stories about itinerant juveniles (although we could do with no more Little Plum, he was always um-crap).

8) RICHARD MARSON (Blue Peter editor) - One reason why BP is so great at the moment is that team of presenters (see above), but a further, and perhaps even more vital reason, is the crew behind the scenes, of whom current editor Richard Marson is the most important. Replacing Steve Hocking last autumn, Marson has kept the same mix of familiarity and innovation, silliness and seriousness. He knows that BP has a distinguished past, hence the regular appearances of previous presenters, and the continuation of regular aspects - the appeal, the makes - passed down through generations. But there's also a look to the future, with more shows devoted to a single subject, regular trips out to interesting places, and new competitions and recurring features, like the fantastic Quest. But Marson also makes the list thanks to his extra-curricular work - he's an active member of the classic television organisation Kaleidoscope, writing regularly on the subject (such as a complete history of Upstairs Downstairs). So surely it can be but a matter of time until Matt Baker and Tony Currie work together.

From Richard: "Well, what an honour! To think I'm just places away from Dick and Dom...! Thank you for your very complimentary remarks about BLUE PETER. Perhaps the secret of the programme's continuing success is that the people who work on it most effectively are fans themselves, they understand the need for confidence in your material and (crucially) in your audience - and that cool comes from doing what you do best as well as you can - and not from gimmicks and following fashion. I do hope you keep watching, there's loads of great stuff on the way and the presenting team have no plans to split up just yet. In fact, Konnie is just a few months away from beating Lesley Judd's run and becoming the second longest running female presenter in the show's history. As to whether she then takes on the mighty Val... All the best and good luck with a very entertaining site!"

7) ASHLEY HIGHFIELD (Director of New Media at the BBC) - We're a bit worried about Ash now that Greg's gone from the Beeb, 'cos these two were real playmates. For a start they both bought matching mobile 3G camera phones (to see who could take the most compromising/entertaining pic of the other), and they were both really keen on branding up the BBC's interactive services and using them (via the holy grail of broadband) to make grand gestures such as offering free archive video to the likes of you and me. We heartily approve, although Ash's main function appears to be launching great interactive initiatives and then turning up to have his photo taken at them with Jordan. Not a bad job description for a bloke who, only a couple of years ago, was working at Flextech and dating a girl whose mum had played the Queen Of The Universe in an episode of Blake's Seven (and we know that's true 'cos we checked!). Our favourite Ash anecdote, however, is one we don't yet know the outcome of. When Jenson Button agreed to film a wooden, stilted appearance in those BBCi trails (we still don't know why they didn't kit him out in the full Ferrari Formula One racing garb and play up the 'red Button' angle), Highfield was as keen as mustard to get his hands on the special prop chair that had been built for the shoot. He hadn't, however, reckoned on being forced into a charity auction bid-off scenario in the BBC Club bar against the similarly eager driving ace. The last we heard the matter still hadn't been settled so, Ash, if you're reading this, please contact TV Cream and let us know if you won.

From Ashley: "Your site is fab. The 'Jenson Button' chair is mine! I was duped into bidding on one side of a non-existent 'bidding war' and so have the most expensive crap promo prop in history, but Children in Need are the beneficiaries so no harm done. Your facts are frighteningly accurate, too..."

6) ROLY KEATING (Controller, BBC4) - That he was a founder producer and subsequent Editor of The Late Show splits opinion here at TVC Towers, but that he helms the BBC's clever-clogs digital outlet, BBC4, gets us all cheering as one. Because despite Media Guardian continually slating the channel, in actual fact it's brilliant. To be honest even if there wasn't anything else on it, it would pretty much be enough that The 4 carries Curb Your Enthusiasm and actually seems to realise what a fantastic show it's managed to get hold of. However, under Keating the channel has forged ahead mapping out a clear path through that tricky terrain where old fashioned stoical eighties era BBC2 programmes of genuine cultural worth meet dynamic, crowd-pleasing narratives. Witness The National Trust - which, with quotes such as "We've bought three houses and now we've got to buy another one so that Ringo doesn't feel left out" - could have been gold-era Cutting Edge, or any single edition of the sublime Time Shift. Taking on and completing The Falklands Play was pretty damn good in itself, prefacing it with a documentary that included Bill Cotton and Michael Grade explaining why it was actually rather crap is above and beyond. At TV Cream we're not self-consciously stuck on intellectual telly, nor (hopefully) are we inverted snobs only interested in pure entertainment. That's why BBC4 is our digital channel of choice - clever stuff, with a populist touch.

From Roly: "Thanks for your email. I will be on leave from Monday 22nd to Friday 26th March. If your query is urgent, please contact XXXXXXXX XXXX on 020 XXXX XXXX."

5) JOHN HUMPHRYS (Broadcaster and journalist) - For years pigeonholed as a one-note broadcaster, supposedly unable to deviate from (and, indeed, choosing to revel in) the role of the Today programme's resident Cardinal Ximenez, it feels like it's only recently that Humphrys has succeeded in convincingly reminding everyone of his true depth of character. Helming the relaunched Mastermind has helped, not least in giving him a chance to expose TV audiences to his fine line in dry wit ("The Smiths? They were a miserable band"). The demise of On The Record has, ironically, further diluted that rottweiler tag, while a recent spate of press interviews have revealed him to be an unusually honest conversationalist ("I'm not getting into a pissing match with Alastair Campbell.") But it's been on the Today programme itself, specifically over the last 12 months, that Humphrys has been a revelation. Splitting him from former editor Rod Liddle, to whom he practiced an overly stern loyalty, forced him to relax and become more accommodating to the views of co-hosts and guests alike. Then came war in Iraq and the Hutton Report, with the man himself ending up defending both his own honour and that of the BBC in uncomfortably noisy exchanges that bordered on playground-style namecalling. Most recently his sober, consummately professional handling of the Report's aftermath, plus a textbook display of stoical good cheer, have allowed the programme to quickly move on and continue dropping a few finely chosen words in the nation's ear. Humphrys has just signed a new three-year contract with the show, even though he doesn't need the money, simply because he adores the job. You feel Today's reputation, and its survival, is safe in his hands.

4) GREG DYKE (Unemployed) - What's he doing now then? Unlike everyone else in this list Greg isn't actually doing anything. After recent events he is currently at the height of his fame and popularity, even (almost) managing to shake off the 'Roland Rat's Dad' tag. Sadly due to him having to pop down the dole office every Thursday he's not currently in a position do anything with it. Greg probably has one of the best-known CVs in the television (if not we fill in the gaps here). Now after four glorious years transforming the BBC into something great with his brand of no-nonsense management, he's a free agent... apart from a big money, post-Hutton book deal. Bound to be entertaining it's also certain to shake things up a bit; just when Byford and co have finally drawn a line under the whole sorry incident. Assuming he doesn't burn too many bridges in the process he'll be back in the TV world soon, although where is anyone's guess, and doing what? Having worked at (and indeed run) four out of the five biggest channels and spending substantial parts of the last 15 years having a go at Sky his options are limited. Whatever he does it's sure to be great, but we just wish he'd hurry up and get on with it; television is a worse place without him and there is a good deal of crap that needs cutting. Besides, what other TV executive in such circumstances would leave the premises for the last time with the words: "Thank fuck for that, now I won't have to read any of that charter review bollocks"?

3) ROLF HARRIS (It's Rolf, for goodness sake!) - Well, of course. His recent presence in our minds has been due to resuscitation from student union tour hell via his perfectly weighted presentation of Rolf On Art, which endless knownothing hacks slagged off the same second the BBC announced it but went noticeably quiet when it got 7m viewers and increased interest in the artists the series covered. Melvyn Bragg can moan about the BBC arts output being dumbed down by it all he wants, but he's just done a South Bank Show about TV dramas that went behind the scenes of Footballer's Wives and still only got 700,000. Er, anyway. All that's almost the mark of the man whose career on paper shouldn't have worked at all - as Danny Baker once put it, "nobody sets out to threaten Bruce Forsyth with an act based on Aboriginal tribal music and eight tins of emulsion". We've all grown up with him at the forefront of our understanding of LE and its attendant formats, whether through Jake The Peg, Rolf's Cartoon Club or playing the didgeridoo on a daytime TV spot. IMDb reckons he was in two episodes of Hancock's Half Hour, which we'd like to see. It's incredibly heartening to us all that as he prepares to turn 74 he's not slowing up, and that Royal Albert Hall special proved somewhere amid the pointless showbiz interludes that he'll always be the consummate performer, able to turn his hand to just about anything with no small amount of skill. We hope for the sake of his obit files that the days of post-modern irony-laden cover versions are as over as the Animal Hospital referencing comedy sketches, and perhaps that someone might give him TV time to do a bit more huge scale freestyle painting on a 9ft square canvas in front of some scouts before too long.

2) DICK AND DOM (Children's BBC presenters) - There was a time, and not that very long ago, when to publicly equate quality Saturday morning telly with BBC1 would've invited a degree of ridicule nigh on immeasurable. The slot seemed a complete lost cause. Countless revamps had merely achieved mounting humiliation, with the compound effect being desperate damage to the Beeb's reputation and runaway success for ITV. That was until Dick and Dom In Da Bungalow made the leap from the CBBC digital channel to BBC1 in September 2003, and everything changed. Literally in one stroke, a part of the schedules all but written off was completely re-invigorated, and all thanks to a hell-for-leather charge through a cavalcade of noise, colour, toilet gags, slapstick and general silliness, orchestrated on screen by long-time CBBC faces Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood. Even though you can tell that everyone involved in Da Bungalow absolutely loves working on the show, the core of its greatness has always resided with the behaviour of its two presenters. Their 'act' is to be nothing of the sort: they are simply themselves, best mates, perfect TV naturals, with that unique bond of understanding that only comes from years working together on screen. Their endless barbed asides, gossipy banter and collapses into corpsing are wonderfully infectious and utterly uncontrived. They don't need to package or project what they do for any specific audience - children, teenagers, students, adults, anybody. In fact they don't have to try at anything: they just are, as themselves, incredibly talented. They're also thankfully still a long, long way from turning their friendship into an Ant and Dec-esque commodity parcelled out to the highest bidder. Indeed, primetime telly would be a bad move at this stage; you get the feeling the pair have still got bags of potential where they are, at the helm of CBBC, saviours of Saturday morning TV, guaranteeing flawless and imperial entertainment week in week out. Their best show is always their most recent one; the greatest thing is knowing that even more dazzling things await.

From Dick and Dom: "We are very flattered to be number 2 in the 'movers & shakers' list at TV Cream.Org. We think that they are absolutely nuts to have put us a long side Greg Dyke and Michael Grade, but at the same time; they're absolutely bang on!!! Ta TV Cream and see you in September when we come back from Handbag Land. Love & Muck Muck, D & D"