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

After Tim Davie's resignation announcement only a day ago, talk is turning to who could replace him and take on the highest-profile role in British broadcasting.

The BBC's director-general position is a crucial role, serving effectively as both the corporation's chief executive and its editor-in-chief across television, radio and online. Davie, who has worked for the BBC for 20 years and been in charge for the past five, is not stepping down immediately.

He said in his departure note to staff that he is "working through exact timings with the board to allow for an orderly transition to a successor over the coming months". It is still early days, but here are some of the names being discussed as contenders for the role.

Charlotte Moore Chief executive of Left Bank Pictures, a British independent TV and film production company owned by Sony, Charlotte Moore was chief content officer at the BBC for five years before leaving in the summer. She was among those shortlisted when Davie got the job in 2020 and is known as the mastermind behind the commissioning of The Great British Bake Off.

In March 2023, she was awarded the Royal Television Society Judges Award in recognition of her leadership "through one of the most momentous years in [the BBC's] history and having done so with an exceptional combination of steadfast level-headedness, confidence and creative flair". "The BBC is an extraordinary place to work," she said in a statement when her move to Left Bank was announced.

"There's nowhere quite like it that backs risk-taking, innovation and homegrown creativity with such commitment." James Harding A former editor of the Times and director of BBC News, James Harding is the co-founder and editor of slow news venture Tortoise Media, which bought The Observer newspaper in December 2024. Harding called for the BBC to be "put beyond the reach of politicians" in an interview with Sky News before giving the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival in the summer.

Establishing the independence of the BBC is critical "if we want to build confidence in shared facts and respect for the truth.