Roles and responsibilities
- Helen Thomas was appointed the Director of BBC England in June 2018
- Helen is in charge of the BBC’s output in England across all platforms including 13 regional television services, 39 local radio stations and regional and local online services
- She has additional responsibilities to represent the BBC externally in England and ensure the country is represented internally within the BBC
- BBC England is part of the BBC’s Nations and Regions division
Biography
Helen Thomas, one of the BBC’s most senior women executives, was appointed Director of BBC England in June 2018. She is in charge of 2,700 staff and is responsible for the BBC’s output in England across all platforms including 15 regional television services, 39 Local Radio stations and regional and local online services. Helen has direct editorial and operational responsibility across England, and oversees and enhances the BBC’s offer to communities across the country.
She is committed to better serving the nations and regions, representing the diversity of the UK. Her role is to provide strategic direction and overall leadership in England across all platforms.
In May 2019 Helen added management of the BBC’s flagship site in the North to her role. BBC North in Salford has almost 3,500 staff and is the home of BBC Sport, BBC Radio 5 live, BBC Children’s and Education, BBC Philharmonic, BBC iPlayer and BBC Breakfast, as well as many other BBC departments.
Helen first joined the BBC in 1985 and has worked as a producer, presenter and editor within the BBC and the commercial sector. She took a career break to have three children and then returned to work at ITV’s Yorkshire Television.
After that she led news teams at various commercial radio stations before re-joining the BBC as editor of BBC Radio Humberside in 1999. She was promoted to Head of Regional and Local Programming in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire before her remit was eventually extended across the whole of Yorkshire.
Helen was instrumental in the following projects:
- Project Hull - a £25m investment in Hull/East Riding of Yorkshire on how the BBC could connect locally
- The above led to Helen being part of the early development of building BBC North with Peter Salmon
- The BBC’s first broadband and VOD trial in Hull
In 2017 she managed the BBC’s partnership with Hull's UK City of Culture year which provided a £300m boost to the city's tourism industry. Hull’s special year attracted a total audience of 5.3 million who attended more than 2,800 events, cultural activities, installations and exhibitions.
Helen has attended Stanford and Ashridge. She hails from Yorkshire, lives in York, and is a passionate advocate of what the whole region has to offer the BBC and the creative industries in general.
BBC England is part of the BBC’s Nations and Regions division.
Annual remuneration (as at July 2022)
- £165,000 -£169,999
(as per Annual Report and Accounts disclosure)
Expenses and central bookings
Expenses are costs incurred by BBC staff on behalf of the BBC and claimed through the BBC's expenses system.
Central bookings are costs incurred on behalf of the BBC and booked through the BBC's central bookings system. Both expenses and central bookings are published every three months.
Downloads
- Helen Thomas had no expenses paid in Q2 2022-23
- Helen Thomas' central bookings Q2 2022-23
- Helen Thomas had no expenses paid in Q1 2022-23
- Helen Thomas' central bookings Q1 2022-23
- Helen Thomas had no expenses paid in Q4 2021-22
- Helen Thomas had no central bookings in Q4 2021-22
- Helen Thomas had no expenses paid in Q3 2021-22
- Helen Thomas' central bookings in Q3 2021-22
- Helen Thomas had no expenses paid in Q2 2021-22
- Helen Thomas had no central bookings in Q2 2021-22
- Helen Thomas had no expenses paid in Q1 2021-22
- Helen Thomas had no central bookings in Q1 2021-22
- Helen Thomas had no expenses paid in Q4 2020-21
- Helen Thomas had no central bookings in Q4 2020-21
- Helen Thomas had no expenses paid in Q3 2020-21
- Helen Thomas had no central bookings in Q3 2020-2
- Helen Thomas had no expenses paid in Q2 2020-21
- Helen Thomas had no central bookings in Q2 2020-21
- Helen Thomas had no expenses paid in Q1 2020-21
- Helen Thomas had no central bookings in Q1 2020-21
- Helen Thomas had no expenses paid in Q4 2019-20
- Helen Thomas’s central bookings Q4 2019-20
- Helen Thomas had no expenses paid in Q3 2019-20
- Helen Thomas’s central bookings Q3 2019-20
- Helen Thomas’s expenses Q2 2019-20
- Helen Thomas’s central bookings Q2 2019-20
- Helen Thomas’s expenses Q1 2019-20
- Helen Thomas’s central bookings Q1 2019-20
- Helen Thomas's expenses Q4 2018-19
- Helen Thomas's central bookings Q4 2018-19
- Helen Thomas's expenses Q3 2018-19
- Helen Thomas's central bookings Q3 2018-19
Gifts and Hospitality Register
Gifts and hospitality may only be accepted in line with BBC policy. Information about gifts and hospitality is published every three months.
Downloads
- Helen Thomas had no gifts or hospitality to declare in Q2 2022-23
- Helen Thomas had no gifts or hospitality to declare in Q1 2022-23
- Helen Thomas had no gifts or hospitality to declare in Q4 2021-22
- Helen Thomas had no gifts or hospitality to declare in Q3 2021-22
- Helen Thomas had no gifts or hospitality to declare in Q2 2021-22
- Helen Thomas had no gifts or hospitality to declare in Q1 2021-22
- Helen Thomas had no gifts or hospitality to declare in Q4 2020-21
- Helen Thomas had no gifts or hospitality to declare in Q3 2020-21
- Helen Thomas had no gifts or hospitality to declare in Q2 2020-21
- Helen Thomas had no gifts or hospitality to declare in Q1 2020-21
- Helen Thomas had no gifts or hospitality to declare in Q4 2019-20
- Helen Thomas's Gifts and Hospitality Register Q3 2019-20
- Helen Thomas had no gifts or hospitality to declare in Q2 2019-20
- Helen Thomas had no gifts or hospitality to declare in Q1 2019-20
- Helen Thomas had no gifts or hospitality to declare in 2018-19
Declaration of personal interests
Staff must make a declaration of their personal and business interests, including any memberships or directorships of public or industry bodies, and any shareholdings, as well as any interests that their immediate families may also have.
A summary is published where there is something to declare and where there is nothing to declare. Occasionally an individual will have something to declare but due to the personal nature of the declaration we do not publish details as to do so would breach the General Data Protection Regulation.
This information is published annually, although if any amendments are made during the year an updated summary will be published if necessary as soon as it is available.