Controller of documentaries and Edinburgh festival chair poised to exit corporation ahead of his division's merger with leisure and factual entertainment
BBC controller of documentaries Jeremy Gibson is poised to leave the corporation as it gears up for a major overhaul of its beleaguered general factual department, write

According to sources, Gibson's division is set to be merged with leisure and factual entertainment - the other arm of general factual - and the amalgamated department is to be headed by controller of leisure and factual entertainment Anne Morrison.

Gibson, who has only been in the role since last August, was tipped to return to BBC Bristol, which he also oversees, as part of the plans. However, it is understood that he now plans to leave, refusing to work under Morrison.

BBC insiders said that a formal announcement of the restructure was expected in the next couple of weeks. BBC Bristol is also expected to be overhauled. Staff in BBC documentaries, in particular, are preparing for redundancies and are said to be feeling 'vulnerable' as significant job cuts are expected.

Gibson, who is also this year's Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival chairman, was understood to have originally wanted Morrison's job but was persuaded last summer to take on the documentaries role. Sources say he has become increasingly frustrated with the structure of the factual department and the establishment of creative director roles.

The BBC general factual department has been in turmoil for several months with key executives continually at odds with one another. The production department has been regarded as overcrowded with some projects subjected to scrutiny from nine layers of management. In March, BBC controller of specialist factual Glenwyn Benson took on the post of factual and learning co-director and one of her expected tasks was to make the general factual department more streamlined.

As part of BBC director general Greg Dyke's plan to deliver cost savings of£200m a year, he announced last July that there would be more than 1,000 job losses and casualties within the factual department have been expected for some time.

A BBC spokeswoman denied Gibson's departure but told Broadcast that the corporation was still looking into the job cuts, claiming they would be much less than 25 per cent. She said: 'Naturally, some people's contracts are ending and it will be posts rather than people that are going. Many people will be redeployed. The commitment to factual programming remains.'