According to The Guardian, the BBC has drawn up a shortlist of four candidates to replace Tony Hall, with interviews expected to take place in early June.

The contenders are Will Lewis, ex-Chief Executive of the publisher of the Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corp); Tim Davie and Charlotte Moore - two of the BBC’s most senior executives, and one other female candidate.

Apparently the BBC had contacted Channel 4's Chief Executive Alex Mahon about taking on the role, but she declined to put her name forward.

Tim Davie, currently the Chief Executive of BBC Studios, briefly took on the role of Acting DG back in 2012 after George Entwistle resigned. Prior to that he ran the BBC’s Audio & Music operation, whilst Charlotte Moore is the BBC’s Director of Content, and manages a budget of £1 billion.

Will Lewis left Dow Jones & Co on Friday, after six years with the company. He's previously worked at The Financial Times, The Sunday Times as well as The Daily Telegraph, where he became the youngest Editor-in-Chief. He oversaw the newspaper’s investigation in 2009 into MPs’ expenses.

David Clementi, the present Chairman of the BBC board - who himself comes to the end of his four-year tenure early next year - is leading the recruitment process.