Eight people who could replace Tim Davie as BBC director-general

1 week ago 11

After Tim Davie's resignation announcement lone a time ago, speech is turning to who could regenerate him and instrumentality connected the highest-profile relation successful British broadcasting.

The BBC's director-general presumption is simply a important role, serving efficaciously arsenic some the corporation's main enforcement and its editor-in-chief crossed television, vigor and online.

Davie, who has worked for the BBC for 20 years and been successful complaint for the past five, is not stepping down immediately.

He said successful his departure enactment to unit that helium is "working done nonstop timings with the committee to let for an orderly modulation to a successor implicit the coming months".

It is inactive aboriginal days, but present are immoderate of the names being discussed arsenic contenders for the role.

Charlotte Moore

Chief enforcement of Left Bank Pictures, a British autarkic TV and movie accumulation institution owned by Sony, Charlotte Moore was main contented serviceman astatine the BBC for 5 years earlier leaving successful the summer.

She was among those shortlisted erstwhile Davie got the occupation successful 2020 and is known arsenic the mastermind down the commissioning of The Great British Bake Off.

In March 2023, she was awarded the Royal Television Society Judges Award successful designation of her enactment "through 1 of the astir momentous years successful [the BBC's] past and having done truthful with an exceptional operation of steadfast level-headedness, assurance and originative flair".

"The BBC is an bonzer spot to work," she said successful a connection erstwhile her determination to Left Bank was announced.

"There's obscurity rather similar it that backs risk-taking, innovation and homegrown creativity with specified commitment."

James Harding

A erstwhile exertion of the Times and manager of BBC News, James Harding is the co-founder and exertion of dilatory quality task Tortoise Media, which bought The Observer paper successful December 2024.

Harding called for the BBC to beryllium "put beyond the scope of politicians" in an interrogation with Sky News earlier giving the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture astatine the Edinburgh TV Festival successful the summer.

Establishing the independency of the BBC is captious "if we privation to physique assurance successful shared facts and respect for the truth", helium said.

Jay Hunt

Jay Hunt is Apple TV+'s originative manager for Europe and was appointed seat of the British Film Institute successful 2024.

She has antecedently worked arsenic main originative serviceman for Channel 4, manager of programmes astatine Channel 5 and controller of BBC One.

Channel 4 was named Channel of the Year astatine the Edinburgh International Television Festival successful 2014 and 2016 nether her leadership, and she was known for buying the rights to The Great British Bake Off from the BBC.

At Apple, she has overseen commissioning for award-winning shows specified arsenic Bad Sisters and Slow Horses.

Alex Mahon

After astir 8 years arsenic main enforcement of Channel 4 - the archetypal pistillate successful the broadcaster's past to instrumentality the helm - Alex Mahon near the relation earlier this twelvemonth to pb unrecorded amusement radical Superstruct Entertainment.

Superstruct owns and operates much than 80 euphony festivals crossed 10 countries successful Europe and Australia, including Boardmasters successful Cornwall and Mighty Hoopla.

Mahon's determination allowed her to gain a much lucrative remuneration bundle than the 1 connected connection to her astatine Channel 4, Sky News City exertion Mark Kleinman reported astatine the time.

Dawn Airey, Channel 4 interim chair, described her arsenic a "great fig successful British television" and said she had been "one of the astir impactful CEOs" since the founding of Channel 4 successful 1982.

She was the recipient of Variety's 2020 International Achievement successful Television Award and has been honoured with an International Royal Industrial Fellowship.

Dame Carolyn McCall

Dame Carolyn McCall has led ITV since she joined the transmission successful 2018, having served arsenic main enforcement of easyJet for 7 years and main enforcement of the Guardian Media Group for 4 years.

She was made a dame successful 2016 for services to the aviation manufacture and an OBE earlier that successful 2008 for services to women successful business.

She has led ITV plc's "significant translation successful the competitory integer media scenery since joining successful 2018, successfully evolving it from a linear organisation to a beardown linear and integer media, entertainment, and planetary accumulation business", her biography for the broadcaster states.

McCall is successful the preliminary stages of talks with Sky, the proprietor of Sky News, implicit the possible merchantability of ITV's media and amusement division.

Sir Trevor Phillips

Another sanction that has been suggested by a fewer commentators is Sky News's Sir Trevor Phillips, who presents Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips each weekend.

A businessman and journalist, Phillips has won Royal Television Society journalism awards 3 times. He is besides a Times columnist and was shortlisted for Comment Writer of the Year successful 2020.

Phillips, who was knighted successful 2022 for services to equality and quality rights, was antecedently caput of existent affairs for London Weekend TV (where helium worked alongside BBC seat Samir Shah), seat of the London Assembly, seat of the Commission for Racial Equality, seat of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and president of the John Lewis Partnership Council.

His sanction has been mentioned arsenic a imaginable contender connected governmental website Guido Fawkes, arsenic good arsenic by Rod Liddle connected Times Radio and writer Stephen Pollard successful a file for The Spectator, headlined: "Is this the antheral who tin prevention the BBC?"

Senior BBC staff

Could the BBC look internally?

One sanction that has been mentioned is Jonathan Munro, who, since joining the BBC successful 2014, has led quality sum "through each large communicative implicit the past decade", his biography for the broadcaster states, from Brexit to UK wide elections, and the decease of the Queen to the wars successful Ukraine and Gaza.

He became planetary manager of BBC News successful September 2024, and is besides manager of the BBC World Service and lawman main enforcement of BBC News and Current Affairs.

There is besides Kate Phillips, who replaced Moore arsenic main contented officer, the elder enforcement liable for each the BBC's web TV and vigor output, successful the summer.

She has lone been successful the relation for a fewer months, having antecedently held the presumption of manager of unscripted content. During the pandemic, she was acting controller of BBC One.

In different circumstances, BBC News main enforcement Deborah Turness possibly could person been a imaginable campaigner to regenerate Davie, but she announced her resignation alongside his connected Sunday night.

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