Who is Craig Oliver and what is David Cameron’s former communications chief doing now?
CRAIG Oliver was David Cameron’s former communications chief .
He is set to be played by Rory Kinnear in a new Channel 4 drama about the Brexit Vote Leave campaign, which is set to air TONIGHT January 7, 2019.
Who is Craig Oliver and what has his career been like?
Craig Oliver was born on May 15, 1969, in Nottinghamshire and is 49-years-old.
He married BBC News presenter Joanna Gosling in 1996 and they had three children together before separating in March 2014.
As a child Oliver relocated to Scotland, where he studied at Stirling High School before reading English Literature at the University of St Andrews.
He graduated with a diploma in Broadcast Journalism from the Cardiff School of Journalism and went on to work for STV in 1992 as a reporter.
He is a news editor, producer and media executive and was the communications director for Prime Minister David Cameron between 2011 and 2016.
During his news broadcast career, he worked for ITV as a trainee, then a producer.
He also worked as the programme editor of Five News, returning to ITV in 1999 as a senior programme editor for ITV Evening News.
Oliver moved to Channel Four News in 2002, but once again returned to ITV News a year later as Head of Output, before being promoted to Head of Network News Programming.
He went on to join the BBC in 2006 as editor of BBC One's Ten O'Clock News, before also taking control of the channel's Six O'Clock News.
In May 2009, Oliver was appointed as the new deputy head of the Corporation's multimedia newsroom, and was subsequently appointed Controller of English, BBC Global News, in April 2010.
He took on the role after editing the BBC's 2010 general election coverage.
When did he join Downing Street?
On February 2, 2011, Craig Oliver was named as the government’s Director of Communications, replacing Andy Coulson.
It is claimed that Oliver’s appointment came as a direct result of Coulson’s recommendation.
However, just weeks later he committed a political faux pas at the Conservative Party Spring Conference after accidentally showing his notes for David Cameron's keynote speech to photographers.
On May 24, 2012, Oliver was named in documents submitted to the Leveson Inquiry into media standards as being one of eight Downing Street advisers to have had contact with News Corporation lobbyist Frédéric Michel.
The documents revealed that Oliver and Michel dined together in July 2011 after news broke concerning the News of the World phone hacking scandal.
However, it emerged that Oliver did not have to declare the dinner on the register of interests as they split the bill.
What does he do now?
Craig Oliver was knighted in the 2016 Resignation Honours after David Cameron stepped down as Prime Minister in the wake of the European Union membership referendum.
After leaving Downing Street, Oliver wrote an account of the referendum campaign, published in October 2016.
The book, titled Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of Brexit, was serialised in the Mail on Sunday in September 2016.
It claims that David Cameron felt "badly let down" by Theresa May, who was Home Secretary at the time, because she failed to back the remain side.
Following this, Oliver became a senior managing director at Teneo where he advises on Brexit.
MORE BREXIT NEWS
What is the new Brexit film all about?
Channel 4 will air a two-hour long film TONIGHT, January 7, 2019, based upon how the Leave campaign won the referendum in June 2016.
Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch is set to play the role of Dominic Cummings, the Vote Leave campaign director, in the film titled Brexit: The Uncivil War.
Rory Kinnear will play Craig Oliver.
The one-off drama explores the campaign behind one of the most contested votes in history, as well as the sometimes tempestuous relationship Cummings had with those around him.
The film has been written by James Graham and will explore everything from street campaigns to top political influence to put together a picture of the successful campaign.
Brexit: The Uncivil War airs on Channel 4 on Monday, January 7, at 9pm.