TV chief Danny Cohen to leave BBC

The BBC has announced that Danny Cohen is stepping down as Director of Television.

‘In the last few weeks I’ve been approached about a number of exciting opportunities and I want to consider these in an open and transparent way’.

Mr Cohen, who is married to Cambridge economics professor Noreena Hertz, was the controller of BBC Three between 2007 and 2010, prior to become director of television.

In his existing responsibility along with formerly as monitor of BBC One Cohen has monitored a series of collides with inclusive of Call The Midwife, Poldark, Last Tango In Halifax along with the scores and important crash which had been Don’t Scare The Hare. “I’m looking forward to taking up a new leadership role in this age of intense creative and technological innovation”.

“In a world of intense competition and choice, he has further enhanced the BBC’s reputation for quality programming that is full of ambition and creativity”, Hall commented.

The BBC’s director-general, Lord Hall, wished Mr Cohen well and described him as “one of TV’s great talents”.

He is responsible for all of the BBC’s television networks and BBC Productions, as well as the production and commissioning of all of the BBC’s drama, entertainment, comedy and factual programs.

During his tenure he had to deal with Jeremy Clarkson’s Top Gear “fracas” earlier this year and recently apologised to Tom Jones after the Welsh singer was unceremoniously dropped as a judge from The Voice. Like Stephenson, Cohen is widely respected by the creative industry and is said to have been instrumental in securing a working partnership with J.K. Rowling and her agent Neil Blair, paving the way for BBC One commissions The Casual Vacancy and The Cormoran Strike Mysteries. It had been speculated that he was considering other offers from both the USA and UK. He has a fantastic creative mind and much as I’m sad he’s leaving the BBC, I’m excited to see what he does next’. He’s smart, dedicated and extremely kind to everyone on the team. Together we have successfully worked to ensure that the BBC is the UK’s most successful broadcaster, delivering a range of high quality and popular shows that are admired across the world. I want to keep leading teams to make great television.

He said: ‘Danny has done an extraordinary job over the last eight years at the BBC’.

“I’m very proud of the wide-ranging success of BBC Television under my leadership”. We’ll miss him enormously.

When he became director of television in 2013, Cohen, a former pupil of the Rosh Pinah Primary School in north-west London, was tipped as a future director general.

Under Cohen’s leadership, BBC Television has been enjoying a golden period of hit shows and multiple awards.

‘It’s a very odd organisation when people who work for it can’t speak up on its behalf’.

He arrived at the BBC from Channel 4, where he was head of the E4 channel and in charge of Channel 4 documentaries.