He failed to get the top job in 1999. But more than a decade of steady-handed success at the Royal Opera House and then the Olympics made Tony Hall the obvious candidate as director general today.
For Lord Hall, 61, will be returning to home territory when he takes up the post so dramatically vacated by George Entwistle after only 54 days.
Tony Hall first joined the BBC as a trainee in 1973 after graduating in PPE (politics, philosophy and economics) from Oxford University.
He helped launch BBC Parliament and Radio 5 Live and — in experience potentially critical to his new role — edited programmes such as the Nine O’Clock News when in his thirties.
He rose to become director of news in 1993 but lost out to Greg Dyke when he applied for the DG post six years later. In a move which surprised many, he then quit in 2001 to be Royal Opera House chief executive.
An egalitarian passion for increasing access to the arts saw big screen relays and low-price tickets to encourage new audiences. And he helped turn the Cultural Olympiad into a triumph. Married with two children, he entered the Lords two years ago as Baron Hall of Birkenhead. His salary at the Opera House was more than £200,000 a year. An increase in remuneration at the BBC might go some way to sweetening what many regard as a poisoned chalice.
