Lord Burns Becomes New Channel 4 Chairman

Lord Burns, a former chief economic adviser and permanent secretary to the Treasury, has been appointed as the next chairman of Channel 4.

He will join its board immediately as chairman-designate, regulator Ofcom said.

Lord Burns succeeds Luke Johnson, who retires on January 27 following two three-year terms.

The appointment comes as former Meryll Lynch boss Bob Wigley emerges as the front runner to replace Sir Michael Grade as chairman of ITV.

ITV initially failed to recruit former BSkyB boss Tony Ball as chief executive.

Then two leading candidates for the chairmanship - Sir Crispin Davis and Sir Michael Bishop - both pulled out of the running.

One of Mr Wigley's first jobs will be to chose a new chief executive.

Mr Wigley, 48, who headed up Meryll Lynch's European arm, has been involved in many high profile bids and takeovers.

He advised on deals such as RBS's ill-fated takeover of ABN Amro, the Dutch bank.

After stepping down from Meryll last year, he took up the chairmanship of Yell, the Yellow Pages publisher.

ITV's shares gained this morning off the back of an upbeat trading statement.

The X Factor broadcaster said the TV advertising market was stabilising and that it was outperforming its rivals.

ITV also noted that it was set to deliver more than £155m worth of savings this year.