Former S4C boss Sian Doyle in hospital after damning report into bullying allegations
The former boss of a TV channel is in hospital after the publication of a report into bullying allegations.
Sian Doyle had been the chief executive of Welsh-language broadcaster S4C since 2021 but was sacked last month after allegations of bullying.
Ms Doyle’s husband Rob said she was taken to hospital after he found her “unresponsive”.
It comes after an inquiry into allegations of bullying at the channel.
The probe, conducted by law firm Capital Law, published its report on Wednesday.
It found Ms Doyle’s leadership style to be “dictatorial” and “creating a culture of fear”.
Ms Doyle has previously claimed she suffered “a sustained pattern of retaliation, unfair treatment, and wider bullying” at the hands of S4C’s chairman.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, members of the S4C Authority – the body which oversees the management of the broadcaster – said they “would like to say sorry to those who have had to tolerate unacceptable behaviours in the workplace and for the upset that this has caused”.
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S4C said the chairman had nothing further to add to Wednesday’s statement.
Mr Doyle said the report was “heavily biased” and that its framing was “cruel”.
He added the last 24 hours had seen his wife “torn apart in the media after an exceptional 30-year career because of a one-sided report”.
Mr Doyle claimed the report was “designed to be an assassination of her character”.
A DCMS spokesperson said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with Ms Doyle and her family at this incredibly difficult time, and we wish her a speedy return to health.
“We expect the board of S4C to address the issues identified in the independent investigation by Capital Law as a matter of urgency. We have been in regular contact with S4C throughout this investigation and will remain so.
“Public service broadcasters, like every organisation, have a responsibility to uphold a duty of care to all employees.”
S4C was launched in 1982 after a campaign to establish a Welsh-language channel.
“Sian was so proud to have been asked to come out of retirement to lead an organisation that, as a young girl, she campaigned to set up,” Mr Doyle said.
“But that pride turned into frustration, and then to disappointment, fear, and finally despair.”
He said he had “watched in horror and disbelief” as his wife had been “hunted over the last seven months”.
“The person represented in yesterday’s supposedly ‘independent’ report was unrecognisable from the woman I’ve loved for the past 37 years, or the woman her friends and former colleagues know,” he added.
A spokesperson for S4C said the news about Ms Doyle was “very worrying”.
“We are thinking about her and the family,” they said in a statement. “We have offered our support to the family during this difficult time.
“Our hope is that she will recover quickly, and we wish her all the best for the future.”
Taylor Swift has revealed the release date for her new album, The Life Of A Showgirl.
The pop megastar announced her 12th studio album earlier this week but didn’t give many details.
Now, in social media posts and an appearance on boyfriend Travis Kelce’s sports podcast, Swift revealed just what fans can expect from the new album.
Taylor Swift and boyfriend Travis Kelce on the New Heights podcast. Pic: New Heights
The Life of Showgirl, written during the European leg of her record-breaking Eras tour, will be released on 3 October.
It consists of 12 songs, including the title track that features pop star Sabrina Carpenter.
The full track list is:
1. The Fate Of Ophelia
2. Elizabeth Taylor
3. Opalite
4. Father Figure
5. Eldest Daughter
6. Ruin The Friendship
7. Actually Romantic
8. Wi$h Li$t
9. Wood
10. Cancelled!
11. Honey
12. The Life Of A Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)
Long-time collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, two Swedish producers who worked with Swift on some of her biggest hits, joined the pop star for this album.
Within four hours of posting the full podcast episode on YouTube, it had already gathered 4.7m views.
The cover of Taylor Swift’s newly announced album. Pic: Republic Records
The back cover of Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album The Life Of A Showgirl. Pic: Republic Records
‘The hardest-working star in pop’
The album follows last year’s The Tortured Poets Department, which was released during the Eras tour.
That tour, with shows on five continents and in 51 cities, raked in more than $2.2bn (£1.62bn) and was the highest-grossing tour of all time.
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“This album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant,” Swift said during her podcast appearance.
Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.
Disgraced US film producer Harvey Weinstein is to be tried for a third time in a sexual assault case.
A jury in New York could not reach a verdict in June against the 73-year-old who was accused of raping actress Jessica Mann, and a mistrial was declared.
Judge Curtis Farber has said he wants the new trial to happen before the end of this year.
The same jury found Weinstein guilty in June of sexually assaulting former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and not guilty of assaulting Polish former runway model Kaja Sokola the same year.
Weinstein will be sentenced for the guilty verdict in Ms Haley’s case on 30 September.
He denied all of the charges. Throughout the retrial, his lawyers insisted the sexual encounters with his three accusers were “transactional” and “consensual,” and labelled the women as opportunists.
Weinstein was originally convicted of rape and criminal sexual act by the same court in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison for the crimes.
Last year, however, New York’s highest court overturned the conviction, prompting Weinstein’s retrial this summer.
Weinstein was once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood – the co-founder of film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company, who produced films such as the Oscar-winning Shakespeare In Love, Pulp Fiction, and The Crying Game.
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In 2017, a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him propelled the #MeToo movement.
Some of those accusations later led to criminal charges and his convictions in New York and California.
Before the retrial, Weinstein was also serving a 16-year prison sentence after being found guilty of rape in California in December 2022. He has also denied this charge.
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