Following numerous scandals, it was perhaps unsurprising that BBC Director General Tim Davie faced questions over his position at today’s Annual Report press briefing.Per his response and that of BBC Chair Samir Shah, Davie is going nowhere as he approaches his five-year anniversary running the nation’s oldest public broadcaster.“It’s certainly been a tough period and there are tough days,” said Davie, following a month that has seen his position called into question by the Culture Secretary after scandals involving Gregg Wallace, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone and Bob Vylan. “This job is not one you take if you want a quiet life. I absolutely have had some tough things to deal with over the past few weeks.”In a moment of self-reflection, Davie said it can be “difficult to calibrate frankly one week versus the next” why he does the Director General job, but he added: “I think I’m in a place where I can work to improve dramatically the BBC and lead it in the right way.” “We will make mistakes but the leadership and myself have been very clear that we have been decisive,” he added. “There is a lot of noise and different opinions about what we should do but I think we have been clear, we are making the right decisions and are being transparent, and this is what counts.”During his tenure, he said “bluntly there are easier choices we could have made” in areas like being tough on impartiality, which reared its head with the Gaza doc controversy.He is now looking forwards following the publication of reports into Wallace and the Gaza doc.Notably, BBC Chair Shah gave Davie his and the board’s full-throated backing.“I understand why people ask these questions but I want it made absolutely clear that I and the board support Tim Davie and the executive,” he said, as he sat next to the DG. “He has shown strength, confidence and decisive leadership in a very challenging environment.”Shah was also happy to back up the decision to award Davie a £15,000 pay rise last year after three years of his pay being frozen. “There is little doubt that Tim Davie’s pay is significantly under the market rate,” he said. “I understand the point [of questioning it] but we also have to face the fact that if you look at the figures, our performance has been exceptional.”The BBC Annual Report revealed record license fee income and strong digital growth.
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