The Swindon council officer who led the local authority’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 and 2021 is to leave.

Professor Steve Maddern has been director of Public Health at Euclid Street for five years. He is to leave the council in December to take up a new job at Plymouth Council, where he is from originally.

Mr Maddern tweeted: “The news is now official - I’ll be leaving Swindon in December to join Plymouth City Council as their new Director of Public Health.

“ I’ve had an amazing (near) five years in Swindon and look forward to leading the public health agenda in my home city.”

Mr Maddern became something of a local celebrity during the Covid-19 pandemic as he emerged from the usual obscurity of council officers when hosting live question-and-answer sessions on social media about the guidelines and rules and advice on keeping safe during that time.

His waxed and curled moustache became a recognisable signature.

Aside from the pandemic, Mr Maddern has overseen efforts to cut smoking and obesity rates in the borough- and introduced a ‘whole systems’ approach to weight management and physical activity- using all aspects of the council’s work to encourage, and enable, physical activity in the population.