LONDON: The BBC has appointed Tony Hall — Lord Hall of Birkenhead — as the new Director General (DG) of the corporation.

Hall, who is currently chief executive of the Royal Opera House, was head of BBC News and Current Affairs from 1996 to 2001.

He is expected to start in the role in early March, and the BBC said in the interim period Tim Davie will remain as acting DG.

The appointment of Hall follows a tumultuous few months for the BBC, which culminated in the resignation of George Entwistle earlier this month after just 54 days in the job.

Entwistle left his job on Nov.10, after a Newsnight report into child abuse allegations in North Wales was found to have incorrectly named a Tory peer.

BBC Trust Chairman Lord Patten said:

“While there are still very serious questions to be answered by the on-going inquiries, it is in the interests of licence fee payers that the BBC now starts to refocus on its main purpose — making great programmes that audiences love and trust.

“In doing this it will need to take a long, hard look at the way it operates and put in place the changes required to ensure it lives up to the standards that the public expects. Hall is the right person to lead this and I am delighted that he is taking on this role. For its art I want to make sure that the Trust gives Tony Hall whatever help and support he needs to re-build the BBC’s management around him.

“Tony Hall has been an insider and is a currently an outsider. As an ex-BBC man he understands how the Corporation’s culture and behaviour make it, at its best, the greatest broadcaster in the world. And from his vantage point outside the BBC, he understands the sometimes justified criticisms of the Corporation – that it can be inward looking and on occasions too institutional.