Ex-Google boss confirmed as new BBC director general

The ex-president of Google's Europe, Middle East and Africa operations will replace Tim Davie, who said he was resigning in November following a storm over how Panorama edited a speech by US President Donald Trump, News.Az reports, citing the BBC.

BBC chairman Samir Shah said Brittin, who left Google in 2025 after 18 years, "brings to the BBC deep experience of leading a high-profile and highly-complex organisation through transformation".

Brittin, 57, said he "can't wait to start this work", describing it as "a moment of real risk, yet also real opportunity".

He said the UK needs "a thriving BBC that works for everyone in a complex, uncertain and fast changing world".

Setting out his agenda, he added: "The BBC needs the pace and energy to be both where stories are, and where audiences are. To build on the reach, trust and creative strengths today, confront challenges with courage, and thrive as a public service fit for the future."

The chairman also praised Brittin's "passion for the BBC, his understanding of the challenges facing the organisation, his commitment to its independence and his determination to maintain the BBC's position as one of the country's greatest national assets".

The new director general joins at "a critical time", as the government reviews the BBC's royal charter, Shah continued.

"It is clear there is need for radical reform of the BBC, its funding model and the framework in which it operates. The stakes for the BBC, and the future of public service broadcasting, have never been higher."

The BBC's top job is considered to be one of the most demanding in the British media.

During Davie's tenure as the BBC's 17th director general, he was responsible for dealing with a series of scandals and crises at the corporation.