David Attenborough’s 1952 job application and David Bowie’s 1965 audition showed how the BBC both “got it wrong and got it right”, said Mr Seatter.
The corporation turned down the inexperienced Attenborough for a radio producing job with a simple “rejected” stamp but later invited him to apply for a television training scheme, setting him off on his natural history broadcast career.
Bowie appeared before the “bespectacled men” of the BBC Talent Selection Group, which described him as “devoid of personality” and “amateur”, with his sound “not particularly exciting”. He would “not improve with practice”, they predicted.
His audition, Mr Seatter said, included a cover of Mary Poppins’ soundtrack “Chim Chim Cheree”, noting he went on to become one of the world’s biggest stars after being better advised on his music selection.
The exhibition will go live on the BBC website on Jan 3.
