Mark Thompson is the BBC director-general

The Channel 4 chief executive Mark Thompson was appointed director-general of the BBC.

Mr Thompson returned to the BBC hoping to draw a line under the post-Hutton period that claimed the job of his predecessor, Greg Dyke, and the previous chairman, Gavyn Davies.

Mr Thompson arrived for his first day at the office on 22nd June 2004. He immediately announced a management shake-up.

The acting director-general, Mark Byford, who failed to get the top job was fobbed off with the title of deputy director-general and a role of head of journalism and chair of the journalism board.

Byford took the top journalism job ahead of the hapless Richard Sambrook, the BBC's director of news and current affairs who survived his ineffectual role in the Gilligan affair.

Finance chief, John Smith, has been given a new title of chief operating officer and is the de facto number three in the BBC.

Old-timer, Alan Yentob, emerged with a new job at the BBC. He is the "creative director".

Lorraine Heggessey, controller of BBC One for four years, and responsible for the dumbing down at the channel announced she was leaving in February 2005.