The Influentials: Who's in and who's out?

TOUGH AT THE TOP

IN: TELEVISION JAY HUNT, 40
BBC1, CONTROLLER
Hunt replaces Peter Fincham who resigned after the debacle surrounding the doctored footage of the Queen. It's a rapid rise for Hunt who was poached by Five from the BBC in the summer only to jump back for this powerful post. Could the former editor of the BBC Six O'Clock News become the first female director-general?

OUT: SPORT DEREK MAPP, 57
SPORT ENGLAND, FORMER CHAIRMAN
One of the most senior figures in British sport, Mapp has quit after a row over the legacy of the London Olympics. His decision came after he was told to change his priorities just 1. months into the job. He warned that the change of funding policy by Culture, Media and Sport Secretary James Purnell could be a "tragedy".

NEW ON THE LIST

FASHION
EMMA HILL
MULBERRY'S NEW CREATIVE DIRECTOR

A powerhouse in the accessories market who helped launch Marc by Marc Jacobs and worked with Gap and Chloé, Hill will join Mulberry in February. Katie Grand will continue to consult for the bag company but Hill is the one to watch.

UNSTOPPABLE

SOCIAL LONDON
CAROL STONE, 65
NETWORKER

The tireless operator invited 1,000 names to her Christmas party at Middle Temple. The 29,000 others Stone is rumoured to have on her database should not feel too left out - she's sure to touch base soon, as she always does. We promote her to the top five in social London and demote Sabrina Guinness - her studied shabbiness and hauteur will fade. Time to celebrate the try-hards.

ON THE MONEY

SHAMI CHAKRABARTI, 38
SOCIETY
LIBERTY, DIRECTOR
She has not only justified her position in the top five in society (campaigners, activists etc) but she must now be considered for a place in politics. Chakrabarti has been a regular at No 10 recently and when Gordon Brown tried to ram through 42-day detentions without charge she stopped him in his tracks, passionately accusing him of bad faith. Is she more influential than the Home Secretary in this debate?

NEW ON THE LIST

THEATRE CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, 33
ACTOR
The Standard's theatre critic says the Nigerian actor from Forest Gate - known to friends as "Chewy" - achieves "something extraordinary and historic" playing Othello at the Donmar Warehouse.

GROWING IMPACT

RUNNING LONDON
RUSHANARA ALI, 32
THE YOUNG FOUNDATION, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Glamorous and savvy, Ali is Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for Bethnal Green and Bow. Educated in Tower Hamlets and at Oxford, she founded Tower Hamlets Summer University that has helped cut youth crime.