Tony Hall

Tony Hall — formally Lord Hall or Baron Hall of Birkenhead — was appointed Director-General of the BBC on 22 November 2012, although he did not formally accede to the position until March 2013. Hall had previously been on the short list of candidates for the position in 1999, when it went instead to Greg Dyke. He had been director of BBC News in the 1990s, before leaving the BBC for most of the 2000s to lead the Royal Opera House. His news background as well as his distance from the current BBC structures was cited as a reason for the success of his candidature in the wake of the Jimmy Savile and related scandals that brought down George Entwistle a few weeks prior to Hall's appointment.

Alan Yentob, most notable to Doctor Who fans as the Controller of BBC One responsible for commissioning the 1996 tele-movie, greeted the announcement with praise, saying that Hall had "thrived and blossomed at the Royal Opera. He can understand news, but he also has the real belief that it is creative flair that will make the BBC great."