After Dinner Speakers: Nigel Lythgoe, Dominic Holland, Frank Meeks

The name Nasty Nigel will forever be etched on the minds of thousands of teenagers whose dreams of stardom were dashed with a dry, one-line put-down. Nigel Lythgoe, the TV executive responsible for bringing Popstars to British television, turned himself into a cult figure in the process. Following the success of the series, Mr Lythgoe quit his job as controller of entertainment with the London ITV broadcaster, LWT. But as the new head of a TV production company set up by the Simon Fuller, he has not strayed from the path of reality TV and has produced Survivor and Pop Idol. A former dancer he has produced shows for Cilla Black, Morecambe and Wise, Bob Monkhouse, Lionel Blair, Joe Longthorne and Brian Conley and has worked with just about anyone who has been anybody in TV light entertainment.