After 10 years as President of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), Sir Quentin Thomas has decided to retire from the post.

An advertisement for an open competition to choose his successor has been placed today and Sir Quentin Thomas will remain in post until a successor is selected.

Sir Quentin Thomas said:

"It has been a great privilege and pleasure to serve as President. The Board has a great team under the effective leadership of its Director David Cooke. There is an enthusiastic staff with an unrivalled knowledge of film and of the regulatory issues; and I have been fortunate in my colleagues in the Presidential team and in the support of the Council of Management under Graham Lee and his predecessor Ewart Needham. "When I was appointed Ali G said it was the best job in the world as you got to watch porn all day. He was wrong about the porn but right that it is a great job, with ample opportunity to sample the range, depth and diversity of film. "I hope and believe the public and the industry appreciate the work the Board has done, now for some 100 years. It is important we retain their confidence as film continues to explore the full range of human experience, inevitably pushing at the boundaries as it does so."

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said:

"I am very sorry that we have been unable to persuade Sir Quentin to stay on. His ten years as President have seen the BBFC's Classification Guidelines, based on wide public consultation, achieve high levels of public and industry trust. He has also overseen improved efficiency and speed of decisions, innovative new services for video-on-demand, and the provision of rich and helpful content information to the public. On behalf of all the staff at the BBFC I want to thank him and wish him well for the future."  

Notes to editors 

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is an independent, private, not for profit company which classifies films, videos, DVDs and certain video games, advertisements and trailers.  The BBFC operates transparent, well-understood and trusted co-regulatory and self regulatory classification regimes based on years of expertise and published Guidelines which reflect public opinion and the risk of harm; and is accountable to Parliament.