Talkback Thames, which is also behind 'The Bill' and 'They Think It's All Over', was reported to have been in talks with the Heggessey for sometime.
Heggessey is leaving after five years at the corporation. She was responsible for commissioning hits such as 'Blue Planet', 'Spooks', 'State of Play' and 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
BBC director-general Mark Thompson will now be looking for a succcessor for Heggessey, with those possibly in contention including BBC head of daytime Alison Sharman, BBC controller of drama commissioning Jane Tranter, or BBC Three controller Stuart Murphy.
The BBC's director of television, Jana Bennett, said: "Lorraine has been a human dynamo in her successful effort to make BBC One the nation's favourite channel.
"She has been determined to be ambitious on behalf of the audience -- her passionate conviction has been that there was no subject that BBC One could not cover -- while being equally determined to give the audience some of the most popular programmes of recent years."
Thompson added: "I said when I appointed her five years ago that Lorraine was a programme maker through and through; someone who had a great knack of recognising an original idea and making it work on screen.
"During her time at BBC One she has proved that over and over again. Her shoes may be small, but they'll be hard to fill."
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the here.
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
