05/07/2012 - Sir Quentin Thomas has decided to retire from the position of President, British Board of Film Classification. He served 10 years in the post.

Sir Quentin Thomas has decided to retire from the position of President, British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). He served 10 years in the post. An advertisement to choose his successor has been placed today and Sir Quentin will remain until one has been selected.

Sir Quentin said, “It has been a great privilege and pleasure to serve as President. The Board has a great team under the effective leadership of its Director David Cooke. When I was appointed Ali G said it was the best job in the world as you got to watch porn all day. He was wrong about the porn but right that it is a great job, with ample opportunity to sample the range, depth and diversity of film.”

“I hope and believe the public and the industry appreciate the work the Board has done, now for some 100 years. It is important we retain their confidence as film continues to explore the full range of human experience, inevitably pushing at the boundaries as it does so,” he added.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said, “I am very sorry that we have been unable to persuade Sir Quentin to stay on. His ten years as President have seen the BBFC’s Classification Guidelines, based on wide public consultation, achieve high levels of public and industry trust. He has also overseen improved efficiency and speed of decisions, innovative new services for video-on-demand, and the provision of rich and helpful content information to the public. On behalf of all the staff at the BBFC I want to thank him and wish him well for the future.”