Executive producer of BBC current affairs Farah Durrani is the
latest senior news executive to leave the corporation to join the
independent sector.
Her exit follows that of executive producer
current affairs Fiona Stourton last month ‒ who has also gone to an
work with independents.
Both exits come as the BBC continues to
reduce staff numbers as part of director general Mark Thompson’s
cost-cutting regime. And they follow the introduction of the BBC’s
Windows of Creative Competition scheme which means a minimum of 25 per
cent of programmes must be created by independent producers.
Durrani’s
work over the last year has included: The New Al Qaeda: Frontline
Pakistan with Peter Taylor and White Smoke – The Election of a Pope.
She
began her career in BBC Local Radio and then moved to television,
joining the multicultural programmes team at BBC Pebble Mill.
BBC
head of current affairs George Entwistle said: “Farah has been a
determined and passionate film maker, who’s made a big contribution to
the success of the department.
“She has secured some remarkable
access across a range of programmes; I know she’ll be missed, but I am
confident that her talents will secure her well in the independent
sector.”
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