Why would anyone take on the job of Director General of the BBC?

In a resignation email to employees, he wrote about the "very intense personal and professional demands of performing this role over the past few years in these hectic times."

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Director-General Tim Davey has resigned after five difficult years at the BBC, Photo: BBC

Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

13.11.2025. 16:46h

Keti Razal

BBC Culture and Media Editor

The full story of what exactly caused the downfall of the BBC's director general and the executive director of BBC News is likely to emerge.

But one thing, in my opinion, is not in question: Tim Davey's explanation that one of his main reasons for resigning was to pay the human toll of five years of work, which in the previous year in particular had been challenging and error-ridden.

In a resignation email to employees, he wrote about the "very intense personal and professional demands of performing this role over the past few years in these hectic times."

On a human level, there is nothing to complain about.

But there are many who, perhaps understandably, don't have much sympathy for the outgoing CEO.

They point out that the job is highly paid (it is), that it brings many benefits (it does), and that there were too many mistakes during his tenure.

Every time a story explodes (recently: two documentaries about Gaza, the performance of the rap duo Bob Whelan at Glastonbury, and now the misleading montage of Donald Trump's 2021 speech), I've been immediately messaged by journalists outside the BBC.

The question was always the same.

"Does the CEO really have to leave this time?"

Whatever the discussions about individual crises, we live in a "scalp-hunting" media culture.

And when it comes to finding Davy's replacement, the words of BBC Chairman Samir Shah stuck in my head.

"This is not an easy position to fill, it really isn't," he told employees on November 11.

“And I have to be honest, the way we as a country attack people is really not good.

"Why would anyone want to do this job if they're going to face that? We ask a lot of the CEO."

He is right.

Whoever succeeds Davy will know that the chances of him remaining 'unharmed' are slim.

Three of the last five permanent CEOs resigned after the scandal.

One person told me: “If that’s the case, the number of people willing to do the work won’t be large.”

Although all newsrooms make mistakes, when the BBC does, it often results in pressure on its editor-in-chief - the director-general.

One media executive told me that the volume of production generated by the BBC makes it impossible for the director-general to keep fully up to date, but “inevitably at any given moment someone does something really stupid”.

Ultimately, these mistakes can sink the CEO because he has ultimate responsibility.

'Still the most important job in British media'

Davy received around £530.000 (around €600.000) a year, but that is less than he would have earned running a large commercial service.

However, for the right candidate, it could equally be a tempting moment to join the BBC, as negotiations begin with the government on a new royal charter, which will determine its future.

"This is a difficult time to run the BBC, but it's also an exciting one," says Max Goldbart, international TV editor at Deadline magazine (Deadline), who reported this week on the crisis in the British corporation.

"Charter renewal is coming soon, criticism is coming from all sides, but if you are able to push this through then you could be seen as the person who led the BBC through difficult times in the modern era of broadcasting."

Goldbart says it is still “the biggest job in British broadcasting”.

"It remains an influential position that is associated with a lot of prestige... although that prestige has probably declined in the last five years."

Goldbart believes there will be people who are ready to fight.

Of course it is.

But a group of people with the right combination of skills is actually more of a small pool.

The role requires experience in creative leadership, a firm grasp of editorial issues, knowledge of running a large administration, political expertise, experience in commercial affairs and an understanding of a global media perspective.

There aren't many people (if any) who meet all the requirements - which is why some people feel the job is now too much for one person.

There were even suggestions to split the role.

Within the BBC, some say there could be a single leader in charge of programming and strategy, and a separate editor-in-chief or deputy director-general responsible for news and current affairs.

Giving responsibility for news and current affairs to someone else, where many of the BBC's recent scandals have arisen, could significantly increase the director-general's chances of survival.

However, my impression is that the BBC operates with just one person at the very top as the ultimate oversight.

Who could be the new Director General of the BBC?

Jay Hunt - The former controller of BBC One has also worked as chief creative officer of Channel 4 and director of programming at Channel 5, and is currently creative director of Apple in Europe.
Alex Mezhon - She recently left her position as managing director of Channel 4 to become the company's chief executive officer Superstruct Entertainment
Charlotte Moore - The BBC's former head of content left the corporation earlier this year to become the chief executive of a production company Left Bank Pictures
Kerolin Mekol - Former CEO of EasyJet, now CEO of ITV
Kate Phillips - The current BBC chief content officer. She is probably the main favourite among people in the house.
En Mensah - She has worked at the BBC and Sky and is currently Vice President of Content at Netflix (Netflix)
Ser Mark Tompson - Former director of the BBC from 2004 to 2012. Since then, he has faced many challenges in the US as head of the New York Times and CNN.

Other possible candidates include: BBC Studios boss Tom Fassell, All3Media chief executive Jane Turton, RTE director general Kevin Buckhurst, Sky chief executive Dana Strong and the Channel's chief content officer Ian Katz.

Also mentioned are former BBC news chief James Harding, former ITV chairman Peter Bazalgette, Washington Post chief executive Will Lewis, TV presenter and executive Trevor Phillips and presenter Andrew Neil, as well as BBC presenters Nick Robinson and Amol Rajan.

Additional reporting: Ian Youngs and Peter McIntosh.

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