RTÉ deputy chief exiting for Ofcom

The deputy director general of Irish pubcaster RTÉ, Kevin Bakhurst, is set to exit and join UK media regulator Ofcom.

Bakhurst will become content group director at Ofcom, overseeing content and media policy at the watchdog.

Bakhurst joined RTÉ is 2012 from the BBC, initially to become managing director of news and current affairs. He later became deputy DG and, most recently, acting director general after the exit of Noel Curran.

Discovery Networks Northern Europe chief Dee Forbes became RTÉ’s first female director general in April, replacing Curran, while the pubcaster’s director of production and acquisitions, Dermot Horan, was recently named interim MD.

Further changes have seen RTÉ Television MD Glen Killane become MD of eir TV and eirSport, and RTÉ2 controller Bill Malone named as the new director of programming at commercial broadcaster TV3, with RTÉ One controller Adrian Lynch taking over in the interim.

“It has been an absolute privilege to work for the national broadcaster during a time of change and renewal and I wish Dee Forbes and the whole organisation the very best for the years to come,” said Bakhurst in a statement. “I also wish the very best to the rest of Ireland’s vibrant media who play a crucial role during challenging times.”

He will join Ofcom in the autumn ahead of the plan for it to begin regulating UK pubcaster the BBC for the first time, and will report into CEO Sharon White.

Forbes said Bakhurst had “led RTÉ News & Current Affairs decisively through a period of intense change and development, and his contribution, inside the newsroom, and beyond, has been significant”.