Tom Giles to devise blueprint to future proof BBC Current Affairs and take on senior role

The move comes as Current Affairs at the BBC finds itself at a crossroads. Traditional TV audiences have been falling; while new forms are springing up in online video and online digital current affairs. The recent Trust review made clear that the BBC needs to devise a coherent strategy for current affairs in all its forms and on every platform - both in commissioning and in its output.

Tom will lead the review looking at current affairs across TV, radio and online with a view to reshaping the structure and content of what the BBC does. As the review needs to be submitted in the Autumn, Tom will stop editing in June to begin work on the blueprint and will then see it through to implementation.

Ceri Thomas, Head of Programmes, has agreed to be the editor of Panorama for the next six months. The BBC will look to make a permanent appointment once Tom’s review is completed.

James Harding, Director of BBC News and Current Affairs, said he and Tom had been talking for a while about promotional opportunities and that Tom, given his unique range of experience in journalism and film-making, is ideally placed to devise the blueprint.

Mr Harding said: “For the last four years, Tom Giles has been an exceptional editor of Panorama. We should all be proud of the programme under his tireless, hands-on editorship.

"Four years is a lifetime as Panorama editor and Tom and I have been talking for a while about how we can exploit his many talents and enable him to move up in the BBC. It is my belief, given his unique range of experience in journalism and film-making that he is the best person to devise a blueprint to shape what we do in Current Affairs for a long time to come.

“In the short time since I've been at the BBC, the Military Reaction Force in Northern Ireland film and Saving Syria's Children, among others, have demonstrated the great quality of its productions. He and the Panorama team can also point to the programme's track record on some really big stories: corruption allegations against Fifa officials and Winterbourne View obviously - but in the past few weeks we've seen its massive impact in the powerful film on elderly care and in Patrick Mercer's resignation as MP after its Cash for Questions investigation.”

Mr Harding added: “Ceri’s experience as a brilliant editor of the Today programme - his inquisitive nature, intellectual rigour and journalistic steel - will be invaluable. I am very grateful to him for taking charge of Panorama over the coming months."

Tom Giles said: “It’s been an absolute privilege to head one of the country’s greatest Current Affairs brands. After four exhilarating, rewarding years at Panorama – leading such a fantastically talented and dedicated team of journalists and film-makers – I’m excited to be given the chance to move up and shape the future of Current Affairs at the BBC and then to return to ensure that we rise to all the challenges we face – there’s no shortage of them – so we can continue to deliver the very best films, programmes and content around.”

Tom Giles has been the editor of Panorama for the last four years and under his leadership the programme has produced impactful journalism, helping shape the agenda and national debate. This is a view that is widely held across the industry – not just in the BBC. Only last Monday, the film-maker Roger Graef dedicated the BAFTA celebration of his life-time achievements to Tom and the Panorama team under his editorship.

JH

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