Skelton joined BBC Publications in January 1980 as a ‘flexible assistant’ working for the production director of the Radio Times and the paper department. At the time the BBC had three publications, the Radio Times, The Listener, and its in-house magazine Ariel.

“When I first joined BBC Publications I was told that nothing ever changes and to get on I would have to leave… well, 37 years later I guess it’s time for a change,” Skelton quipped.

He recalled the huge amount of industry change that he’d experienced over the decades, and described the acquisition of BBC Magazines by Exponent and the formation of Immediate Media, which now sells more than 74m magazines a year, as “a masterstroke”.

“For me these past six years working for Immediate has been absolutely brilliant and has piled lashings of icing on the Skelton cake,” Skelton added.

Immediate Media chief financial officer Kevin Langford paid tribute to Skelton’s “outstanding contribution” to the company. He said: “Mal has achieved best value for the business over many years and has set a very high bar for us to follow.”

He praised Skelton for his professionalism, integrity and calmness under pressure, which he described as “fantastic unflappability” even when the business was dealing with the ramifications of the impending collapse of Polestar last year. This resulted in the decision being taken to move flagship weekly Radio Times to Wyndeham Group within a matter of hours, followed by all of Immediate Media’s titles.  

“The biggest crisis in our recent history was when we received an email from Barry Hibbert saying we had to find somewhere else to print the Radio Times that weekend,” Langford said. “I phoned Mal, who was on a train and hadn’t seen the email yet, and he said… ‘that’s interesting’.”

Skelton said the episode was both good and bad. “The bad is that a once-great company that I had worked with in its various guises throughout my career – a company with an exceptional pool of high calibre people who time after time went the extra mile for us – that this once great company should collapse in such a manner.  

“Faced with a situation like that you can only do your best, and I think we did OK. I have never been more proud of my team and grateful for the support and goodwill provided by all internal departments, external partners and suppliers.”

Industry colleagues also paid tribute, with many describing it as “the end of an era”.

Jean Stanley, sales manager at Denmaur Independent Papers, said: "I've known Mal for more than 30 years. He's incredibly fair in all of his dealings, no matter who it's with or what it's about. You know where you stand. He knows the industry and he knows what he's talking about. He listens and then makes an informed decision,” she said.

"There has been so much change in the industry over the last few years and he's steered Immediate Media through those events. All credit to Mal and the team there, and he has built a great team. He will be very much missed."

Walstead Group chief executive Paul Utting said: “Mal is a very impressive operator. He is loyal to his suppliers, but decisive and quick to act when required, and his response to the Polestar situation demonstrated that brilliantly. He didn’t hesitate to do the right thing for Immediate.

“He is well liked by everyone and I wish him all the best for the future.”

Skelton will not be directly replaced, and Immediate Media has restructured its production team as a result of his retirement.

Sharon Thompson has been promoted to production and ad services director, and Koli Pickersgill has been promoted to production and repro director. Both report to publishing director Alfie Lewis, who has added overall responsibility for production to his branded content and contract publishing remit.

Sarah Powell, the production director at Immediate’s Bristol operation, will now also lead relationships and negotiations with the group’s paper suppliers. She reports to group managing director Andy Marshall in Bristol.

Skelton said his retirement plans included “a long list of DIY projects”. He will continue to do some consultancy work for Immediate.