Robin Duval has announced that he will retire in August after five and a half years as the Director of the BBFC. He was appointed at the end of 1998.
During his time as Director the Board has become more accountable to the public and more transparent in its decision making. Mr Duval oversaw the Board's first major public consultation exercise resulting in the Classification Guidelines published in September 2000. In this period also, the Board's overall workload has more than doubled from 5712 titles in 1998 to 14,000 last year. At the same time improved efficiency has resulted in a drop of over 20 per cent in the classification fees charged to the industry.
Mr Duval said:
“My period as Director of the BBFC has been immensely stimulating and challenging. I shall be very sad to leave. I believe the publication of the Guidelines, the Board's websites and our continuing engagement with the public through research and publicity have made the Board's decisions much more understandable and acceptable. The Board also now enjoys a reputation for consistency and professional efficiency.
“There is no way of knowing when is the best time to retire, but I would like to think at least that I am leaving the BBFC in good shape. I will miss particularly the kindness and support of all those I have worked with in my five and a half years at the BBFC.”
Before joining the Board Mr Duval was, for seven years, the Deputy Director of Programmes at the Independent Television Commission. As a TV regulator he was responsible for monitoring television standards at the ITC and IBA for 13 years. He began his career in BBC radio and then spent three years as a writer and producer of television commercials at J Walter Thompson. In 1968 he joined the Central Office of Information (COI) as a scriptwriter and went on to become Head of Television and Film Production.
The search for his replacement will begin immediately via open competition.
Public Enquiries: 020 7440 1570
Press Enquiries: Sue Clark 020 7440 3285
Press Office Manager: 020 7440 0383
Out of Hours: Mobile 07946 423719