Next Director General of the BBC

The Sunday Times

reports today :-

GREG DYKE, who was forced out as BBC director-general in January, could make a sensational return to the helm of the corporation.

He is being urged by close friends to apply to Michael Grade, the new chairman of the corporation, to get his old job back. One of Grade’s first tasks when he takes up the chairmanship on May 17 will be to oversee the search for a new director-general. Grade is understood to have told friends that Dyke, an old friend and former colleague, could be a contender.

Unlikely but curiouser things have happened.

I hope that he returns, as I'll miss the Dead Ringer sketches about him if he doesn't return.

I suppose it depends on the Board of Directors, they were the ones that forced him out. Only one of them has gone (Lord Ryder, now acting chairman and who's retiring soon) . Unless they've had a change of heart then it won't happen

I thought that Michael Grade categorically stated in no uncertain terms that it was time for the BBC to look ahead and not to look to the past.

Or was this statement not meant to have any significant meaning?

It still can look forward, even if Greg Dyke is re-appointed as DG. After all, the original plan after Hutton was published, was that Gavyn Davies would be the only one to resign, after urging the governors not to accept Dyke's resignation. Because things got a little confused after the total one-sided nature of the report, Davies resigned before this happened, leading to the majority of the governors, led by Ryder, accepting Dyke's resignation. The rest of the governors, most of whom were more recently appointed, did not want to accept his resignation. The balance of power is swinging to favour Dyke, should he apply to be re-appointed, and if re-appointed, it would serve as a fresh mandate after what happened over Hutton.

Well I think I speak for most staff when I say his return would be a very welcome one. I believe it would reinvigorage the morale of everyone -and we need it in the run up to charter renewal...

A Grade-Dyke BBC would either be a wonderful thing.... or create a huge personality clash

There's bound to be a lot of speculation about the new DG now Grade is chairman. Some of the papers say he want a woman and are tipping both Jana Bennett and Jenny Abrambski ...some are saying that Mark Byford will be disappointed by Michael Grade's appointment as he stands less of a chance. We're all just going to have to wait and see aren't we.

But would make the BBC such an open target for the rest of the media it would probably seriously dent the charter renewal process ...

That having been said, I'd be the first to cheer if they did the unthinkable!

I am not intending to start an anti-feminist thread here, but with the schedules on BBC1 in decline and the crap ident theme and the supposed "dumbing down" of BBC2, I worry if a woman is appointed.

Women do have excellent ideas about many things, but I don't think they are universal in things such as TV controllers and bosses etc. BBC1 in the evenings now consists of alot of makeover shows, that in my opinion appeal more to women than to men. OK, there's been alot of sport on ONE, I don't like sport. I want to see more films, more contemporary dramas and documentaries and less makeover shows.

I may be wrong, I am certain I probably am, but standards on the two mainstream channels of the BBC have dropped under the control of women, I would worry if all the BBC networks would follow suit.

Oh, and they make lots of shows about kittens and sewing too don't they?

Under Lorraine BBC1 took over ITV1 for the first time ever and under Jane BBC2 has held its audience share well...not exactly much to be disappointed with there.