Samir Shah named as preferred candidate for BBC chair

The UK government has named TV executive Samir Shah as its preferred new chair of the BBC, replacing Richard Sharp, the Goldman Sachs executive who resigned earlier this year following allegations that he had facilitated a loan for former prime minister Johnson in 2020. Since then, Elan Closs Stephens has been serving as interim chair.

Samir Shah (Source: DCMS)

Shah, the CEO of production company Juniper, has previously served as a BBC non-executive director and as head of current affairs at the pubcaster. Earlier this year he was named as co-head of a review of the BBC’s coverage of migration issues with Oxford University Migration Observatory director Madeleine Sumption.

“With a career spanning more than 40 years in TV production and journalism, Dr Shah has a wealth of experience to bring to the position of BBC Chair. He has a clear ambition to see the BBC succeed in a rapidly changing media landscape, and I have no doubt he will provide the support and scrutiny that the BBC needs to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future,’ said culture secretary Lucy Frazer.

“His knowledge of the BBC and his belief in its role as a national broadcaster alongside his extensive work to promote diversity in broadcasting will be invaluable in helping to ensure that the BBC reflects, represents and serves communities across the whole of the UK. I would also like to express my thanks to Dame Elan Closs Stephens for her diligence and dedication in leading the Board as Acting Chair in the interim period.”

Shah, unlike Sharp, was recruited after a search by external headhunters with an advisory assessment panel taking part in the vetting process. While the government has been keen to avoid the impression of a political appointment in the wake of Sharp’s departure, Shah does have links with the Conservative party and encountered controversy as chair of the London Museum of the Home when its board of trustees decided to retain a statue of slave trade beneficiary Robert Geffrye, a decision favoured by then culture secretary Oliver Dowden.

He will now appear  before MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee for pre-appointment scrutiny.

“I am delighted to be named the preferred candidate for Chair of the BBC and I look forward to the upcoming pre-appointment hearing with the Select Committee. The BBC is, without doubt, one of the greatest contributions we have made to global culture and one of our strongest calling cards on soft power,” said Shah.

“If I am able to put what skills, experience, and understanding of public service broadcasting I have built up during my career to help this brilliant organisation meet the complex and diverse challenges it faces over the coming years, it would be an honour. The BBC has a great place in British life and a unique duty to reach a wide audience right across the country and I will do all I can to ensure it fulfils this in an increasingly competitive market.”