BBC director of news Fran Unsworth to exit next year
The BBC’s director of news and current affairs, Fran Unsworth, is set to depart next year after four decades with the corporation.
Unsworth said she feels the time is right to exit the coveted position, which she entered in 2018, after having a “ringside seat” at some of the world’s most era-shaping events.
The departing news lead, who joined the BBC in 1980, has helped shape the BBC’s reporting of the Falklands War, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, wars in the Middle East, the death of Princess Diana, 9/11 and “countless general elections”, Unsworth said in a statement.
“The jobs I’ve done have not always been easy. Undoubtedly, some were more fun than others. But I am proud to have done all of them – and to work for an organisation which has such a vital and precious role in the UK and around the world.
“The BBC is free of commercial and proprietorial pressure. Our bosses are the audiences we serve. I am honoured to have been part of it.”
Unsworth, who first entered journalism when joining Radio 1’s Newsbeat, will leave the BBC at the end of January.
The BBC’s director-general Tim Davie praised Unsworth as a “a world-class journalist and is respected and admired by colleagues across the BBC.
“Fran has taken BBC News through one of the most testing periods in its history, providing a vital service during the Covid-19 pandemic, when record audiences turned to BBC News.”
The process to find Unsworth’s successor will soon begin.