Michael Grade
Encyclopedia
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth CBE
(born 8 March 1943) is a British broadcast executive and businessman
. He was BBC
chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc
from 2007 to 2009.
show business
family originally called Winogradsky; his father was the theatrical agent Leslie Grade
, while his uncles were the impresarios Lew Grade
and Bernard Delfont
. He was educated at two independent schools: Stowe School
at Stowe
in Buckinghamshire
, and St Dunstan's College
, in London.
chat-show, The Late Clive James
), the job had been organised by his father. When his father suffered a serious stroke in 1966, the 23-year-old Grade moved into his theatrical business. In 1969 he moved to London Management & Representation.
(LWT) as Deputy Controller of Programmes (Entertainment), achieving the post of Director of Programmes in 1976. At LWT, Grade worked with both John Birt and Greg Dyke
and as Director of Programmes commissioned the controversial series Mind Your Language
as well as the popular The Professionals
and the long running arts strand The South Bank Show
. In 1981 he had a stint in the United States as President of independent production company Embassy Television and as an independent producer.
Television in 1984 as Controller of BBC1
, becoming Director of Programmes in 1986 and Managing Director Designate in 1987. His tenure as Controller was especially controversial, with several high profile public outcries over decisions, such as the decision to stop screening Dallas
whilst fighting Thames
for the series (subsequently reversed) and the forced 18-month hiatus for Doctor Who
in 1985. It is not entirely clear the extent to which Grade alone was responsible for these rulings, but in the case of both Dallas and Doctor Who, he became the most prominent target of the campaigns to save the series. Grade claimed at the time that Doctor Who
was being rested because it was becoming too violent, it was losing its audience, its imagination and wit. He also claimed that the BBC was giving the show a rest “because we don't want another 21 years of Doctor Who”. In recent years, Grade has, on a number of occasions, claimed that he postponed Doctor Who out of personal dislike. During an appearance on Room 101
in 2002, Grade said, "I thought [Doctor Who] was rubbish, I thought it was pathetic, I'd seen Star Wars
, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
and E.T.
, and then I had to watch these cardboard things clonking across the floor trying to scare kids!" Eric Saward
, script editor of Doctor Who at the time Grade put the show on hiatus, responded to this remark during the audio commentary recorded in 2008 for the Doctor Who story Warriors of the Deep
: Saward remarked that, as the Controller of BBC1, this comment by Grade was so unfair because he was in a position to allocate more money and time to the programme (i.e. to improve its production values). Grade admitted in the same programme that he had little interest in or sympathy for science fiction
.
In 1986, Grade took the decision to fire actor Colin Baker
from the title role of Doctor Who. In 2003, Grade remarked to a journalist for The Daily Telegraph
that he had fired Baker because he thought his portrayal of the Doctor was "utterly unlikeable, absolutely god-awful in fact." Grade also cut short the serialisation of The Tripods
trilogy, written by John Christopher
. After two successful seasons which covered the first two books, the third season was cancelled.
Grade was also responsible for purchasing the Australian soap opera
Neighbours
for BBC1's new daytime schedule, debuting on 27 October 1986. He was also responsible for repeating Neighbours, at first purely an afternoon programme, in a later timeslot, on the advice of his daughter, Alison, who was irritated that she could not watch it due to her being at school. This proved to be a successful scheduling decision that still remained in place until February 2008 before it moved to Five, and paid off at the time with audiences in excess of 18 million viewers for the new 5.35 pm showings. It acted as a target finish time for CBBC
and as a buffer between it and the 6 O'Clock News
. He also came close to completely axing the sitcom Blackadder
, judging the first series to be unfunny, because of lukewarm reviews and high cost (it featured extensive location sequences). He demanded that the price for renewing the series was that it be a completely studio-based production (a decision which had already been taken by the writers independently), which led to its becoming a successful series.
, succeeding Jeremy Isaacs
. Grade phased out some of the channel's more high-brow programming, for which he was accused of 'dumbing down'. Grade responded that in the week he took over at Channel 4 they had screened a repeat of The Far Pavilions
in which the American actress Amy Irving
"blacked up" as an Indian Princess. During this period he was attacked by the conservative press: the columnist Paul Johnson in the Daily Mail
gave him the soubriquet of Britain's "pornographer-in-chief".
He was successful in developing the station at a time when Channel 4 was obliged to give a proportion of its advertising revenue to the rival ITV
network. As well as securing talent from the BBC Grade also recognised the improving quality of US television output making series such as Friends
and ER
mainstays of the channel's schedule. Grade also became embroiled in a vicious dispute with Chris Morris
over the satirical series Brass Eye
. Grade repeatedly intervened to demand edits to episodes of Brass Eye, and rescheduled some shows for sensitivity (the 1997 series' final episode, which had been most tampered with, included a single-frame subliminal message reading "Grade is a cunt"). Grade left Channel 4 in 1997 to head First Leisure Corporation
, leaving in 1999 after a substantial restructuring to return to media as chairman of the new Pinewood Studios
company.
in 2001, but lost out to Gavyn Davies
. He was also on the board of the ill-fated Millennium Dome
. He has been chairman of Octopus Publishing, the Camelot Group
, and Hemscott, which he has indicated he will be giving up.
Following Davies' resignation as a result of the Hutton Inquiry
report, it was announced on 2 April 2004 that Grade had been appointed Chairman; at the time his only show-stopper requirement was that he did not have to give up being a Charlton Athletic
Director. He took up his post on 17 May.
Following the end of the first season of the revived series of Doctor Who
in 2005, he wrote a letter to the BBC Director-General, congratulating all involved in the project on its success, signing-off with "PS never dreamed I would ever write this. Must be going soft!"
On 19 September 2006, he became non-executive chairman of Ocado
(the Waitrose food delivery company).
as Chairman and Charles Allen as Chief Executive of one of the companies which formed part of its commercial rival ITV
, becoming Executive Chairman of ITV plc
effective on 8 January 2007.
Under his jurisdiction ITV
as a network, has been struggling with falling advertising and ratings. Mr Grade said his first priority within ITV plc
would be to work as a senior partner of ITV Network Limited to improve ITV
programming as well as improving its own Digital Channels ITV2,ITV3,ITV4 and CITV.
On 12 September 2007, Grade announced a controversial five-year restructuring plan for ITV plc owned Regions targeting entertainment as the Broadcasters top priority to bring to ITV
. A major overhaul of ITV Plc's regional structure was also proposed. The proposals would see consolidation of the ITV
regional news programmes in England, with regions now broadcasting one service per region rather than multiple tailored local services (for example: ITV Yorkshire
would no longer broadcast separate Northern and Southern regions). The proposed changes would also fully merge ITV Border
with ITV Tyne Tees
and ITV West
with ITV Westcountry
, effectively ending two regions' tenure as independent players within ITV
, these proposals have been highly criticised by BECTU and The National Union of Journalists. Any changes would be subject to full approval by Ofcom
.
In March 2009, Grade initiated libel action against another television executive, Greg Dyke
, and The Times newspaper over allegations of improper conduct made by Dyke about Grade, relating to his move from the BBC to ITV in 2006. The newspaper subsequently withdrew the allegations and published an apology, admitting that the allegations had no justification.
On 23 April 2009, Grade announced he would be stepping down as chief executive to become non-executive chairman at the conclusion of regulatory reviews into advertising contract rights and digital television before the end of 2009.
as Baron Grade of Yarmouth. He was introduced in the House of Lords
on 27 January 2011, and sits as a Conservative
.
in 1998, and married his third wife, Francesca Leahy in 1998; they have a son, Samuel. He was previously married to Penelope Jane Levinson (1967–1981) (now the second wife of writer and historian Sir Max Hastings
), with whom he had two children, and Sarah Lawson
, a producer. In 1998, his autobiography was published, entitled "It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time". He is a Charlton Athletic F.C.
fan., On 22 October 2010, Grade was in attendance at the funeral of actor and comedian Sir Norman Wisdom
.
Grade revealed his support for, and membership of, the Conservative Party for the first time in May 2010.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 8 March 1943) is a British broadcast executive and businessman
Businessperson
A businessperson is someone involved in a particular undertaking of activities for the purpose of generating revenue from a combination of human, financial, or physical capital. An entrepreneur is an example of a business person...
. He was BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
from 2007 to 2009.
Early life
Grade was born into a JewishJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
show business
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
family originally called Winogradsky; his father was the theatrical agent Leslie Grade
Leslie Grade
Leslie Grade was a British talent agent and executive with The Grade Organisation. He was born Laszlo Winogradsky in Tokmak, Ukraine, Russian Empire...
, while his uncles were the impresarios Lew Grade
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...
and Bernard Delfont
Bernard Delfont
Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont , born Boris Winogradsky, was a leading Russian-born British theatrical impresario....
. He was educated at two independent schools: Stowe School
Stowe School
Stowe School is an independent school in Stowe, Buckinghamshire. It was founded on 11 May 1923 by J. F. Roxburgh, initially with 99 male pupils. It is a member of the Rugby Group and Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school is also a member of the G20 Schools Group...
at Stowe
Stowe, Buckinghamshire
Stowe is a civil parish and former village about northwest of Buckingham in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Boycott, Dadford and Lamport....
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, and St Dunstan's College
St Dunstan's College
St Dunstan's College is a co-educational independent school in London, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, and was an all-boys establishment until 1994...
, in London.
Career
He began his career with the Daily Mirror in 1960, and was a sports columnist from 1964 to 1966. By an account he told himself (on a Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
chat-show, The Late Clive James
Clive James
Clive James, AM is an Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet and memoirist, best known for his autobiographical series Unreliable Memoirs, for his chat shows and documentaries on British television and for his prolific journalism...
), the job had been organised by his father. When his father suffered a serious stroke in 1966, the 23-year-old Grade moved into his theatrical business. In 1969 he moved to London Management & Representation.
London Weekend Television
He entered television in 1973 when he joined London Weekend TelevisionLondon Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
(LWT) as Deputy Controller of Programmes (Entertainment), achieving the post of Director of Programmes in 1976. At LWT, Grade worked with both John Birt and Greg Dyke
Greg Dyke
Gregory "Greg" Dyke is a British media executive, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am...
and as Director of Programmes commissioned the controversial series Mind Your Language
Mind Your Language
Mind Your Language is a British comedy television series, that premiered on ITV in late 1977. Produced by LWT and directed by Stuart Allen, it is set in an adult education college in London and focuses on the English as a Foreign Language class taught by Mr. Jeremy Brown, portrayed by Barry Evans,...
as well as the popular The Professionals
The Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
and the long running arts strand The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show was a television arts magazine show, originally made by London Weekend Television , presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast on ITV and seen in over 60 countries worldwide — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States...
. In 1981 he had a stint in the United States as President of independent production company Embassy Television and as an independent producer.
BBC (1st period)
Grade joined BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Television in 1984 as Controller of BBC1
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, becoming Director of Programmes in 1986 and Managing Director Designate in 1987. His tenure as Controller was especially controversial, with several high profile public outcries over decisions, such as the decision to stop screening Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
whilst fighting Thames
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
for the series (subsequently reversed) and the forced 18-month hiatus for Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
in 1985. It is not entirely clear the extent to which Grade alone was responsible for these rulings, but in the case of both Dallas and Doctor Who, he became the most prominent target of the campaigns to save the series. Grade claimed at the time that Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
was being rested because it was becoming too violent, it was losing its audience, its imagination and wit. He also claimed that the BBC was giving the show a rest “because we don't want another 21 years of Doctor Who”. In recent years, Grade has, on a number of occasions, claimed that he postponed Doctor Who out of personal dislike. During an appearance on Room 101
Room 101 (TV series)
Room 101 is a BBC comedy television series based on the radio series of the same name, in which celebrities were invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign them to a fate worse than death in Room 101, named after the torture room in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which is...
in 2002, Grade said, "I thought [Doctor Who] was rubbish, I thought it was pathetic, I'd seen Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey...
and E.T.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
, and then I had to watch these cardboard things clonking across the floor trying to scare kids!" Eric Saward
Eric Saward
Eric Saward was born on 9 December 1944 and became a scriptwriter and script editor for the BBC, resigning from the latter post on the TV programme Doctor Who in 1986....
, script editor of Doctor Who at the time Grade put the show on hiatus, responded to this remark during the audio commentary recorded in 2008 for the Doctor Who story Warriors of the Deep
Warriors of the Deep
Warriors of the Deep is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 5 January to 13 January 1984...
: Saward remarked that, as the Controller of BBC1, this comment by Grade was so unfair because he was in a position to allocate more money and time to the programme (i.e. to improve its production values). Grade admitted in the same programme that he had little interest in or sympathy for science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
.
In 1986, Grade took the decision to fire actor Colin Baker
Colin Baker
Colin Baker is a British actor who is known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.- Background:Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to...
from the title role of Doctor Who. In 2003, Grade remarked to a journalist for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
that he had fired Baker because he thought his portrayal of the Doctor was "utterly unlikeable, absolutely god-awful in fact." Grade also cut short the serialisation of The Tripods
The Tripods
The Tripods is a series of young adult novels written by John Christopher, beginning in 1967. The first two were the basis of a science fiction TV-series, produced in the United Kingdom in the 1980s....
trilogy, written by John Christopher
Samuel Youd
Samuel Youd is a British author, best known for his science fiction writings under the pseudonym John Christopher, including the novel The Death of Grass and the young adult oriented novel series The Tripods...
. After two successful seasons which covered the first two books, the third season was cancelled.
Grade was also responsible for purchasing the Australian soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
for BBC1's new daytime schedule, debuting on 27 October 1986. He was also responsible for repeating Neighbours, at first purely an afternoon programme, in a later timeslot, on the advice of his daughter, Alison, who was irritated that she could not watch it due to her being at school. This proved to be a successful scheduling decision that still remained in place until February 2008 before it moved to Five, and paid off at the time with audiences in excess of 18 million viewers for the new 5.35 pm showings. It acted as a target finish time for CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
and as a buffer between it and the 6 O'Clock News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
. He also came close to completely axing the sitcom Blackadder
Blackadder
Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
, judging the first series to be unfunny, because of lukewarm reviews and high cost (it featured extensive location sequences). He demanded that the price for renewing the series was that it be a completely studio-based production (a decision which had already been taken by the writers independently), which led to its becoming a successful series.
Channel 4
In 1987 he accepted the post of chief executive of Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, succeeding Jeremy Isaacs
Jeremy Isaacs
Sir Jeremy Isaacs is a British television producer and executive, winner of many BAFTA awards and international Emmy Awards. He was also General Director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden .-Early life:...
. Grade phased out some of the channel's more high-brow programming, for which he was accused of 'dumbing down'. Grade responded that in the week he took over at Channel 4 they had screened a repeat of The Far Pavilions
The Far Pavilions
The Far Pavilions is an epic novel of British-Indian history by M. M. Kaye, first published in 1978, which tells the story of an English officer during the Great Game. The novel, rooted deeply in the romantic epics of the 19th century, has been hailed as a masterpiece of storytelling...
in which the American actress Amy Irving
Amy Irving
Amy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award...
"blacked up" as an Indian Princess. During this period he was attacked by the conservative press: the columnist Paul Johnson in the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
gave him the soubriquet of Britain's "pornographer-in-chief".
He was successful in developing the station at a time when Channel 4 was obliged to give a proportion of its advertising revenue to the rival ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network. As well as securing talent from the BBC Grade also recognised the improving quality of US television output making series such as Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
and ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
mainstays of the channel's schedule. Grade also became embroiled in a vicious dispute with Chris Morris
Chris Morris (satirist)
Christopher Morris is an English satirist, writer, director and actor. A former radio DJ, he is best known for anchoring the spoof news and current affairs television programmes The Day Today and Brass Eye, as well as his frequent engagement with controversial subject matter.In 2010 Morris...
over the satirical series Brass Eye
Brass Eye
Brass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries. A series of six aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001....
. Grade repeatedly intervened to demand edits to episodes of Brass Eye, and rescheduled some shows for sensitivity (the 1997 series' final episode, which had been most tampered with, included a single-frame subliminal message reading "Grade is a cunt"). Grade left Channel 4 in 1997 to head First Leisure Corporation
First Leisure Corporation
First Leisure Corporation plc was a leisure operator in the United Kingdom between the years 1981 and 2004.Originally based in Soho Square, London, and with other offices in Blackpool and Leicester, its operations included Blackpool Tower, the WinterGardens and all three of Blackpool's piers, as...
, leaving in 1999 after a substantial restructuring to return to media as chairman of the new Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
company.
BBC (2nd period)
Grade had ambitions to become chairman of the BBC board of governorsBoard of Governors of the BBC
The Board of Governors of the BBC was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It consisted of twelve people who together regulated the BBC and represented the interests of the public. It existed from 1927 until it was replaced by the BBC Trust on 1 January 2007.The governors...
in 2001, but lost out to Gavyn Davies
Gavyn Davies
Gavyn Davies, OBE was the chairman of the BBC from 2001 until 2004, a former Goldman Sachs banker and a former economic advisor to the British Government...
. He was also on the board of the ill-fated Millennium Dome
Millennium Dome
The Millennium Dome, colloquially referred to simply as The Dome or even The O2 Arena, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium...
. He has been chairman of Octopus Publishing, the Camelot Group
Camelot Group
Camelot GroupCamelot is a private limited company, its entire share issue is owned by a single shareholder, as detailed above. are the operators of the UK National Lottery. Camelot Group was awarded the National Lottery franchise in 1993 and was re-awarded the franchise in 2001 and again in 2007...
, and Hemscott, which he has indicated he will be giving up.
Following Davies' resignation as a result of the Hutton Inquiry
Hutton Inquiry
The Hutton Inquiry was a 2003 judicial inquiry in the UK chaired by Lord Hutton, who was appointed by the Labour government to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of David Kelly, a biological warfare expert and former UN weapons inspector in Iraq.On 18 July 2003, Kelly, an employee...
report, it was announced on 2 April 2004 that Grade had been appointed Chairman; at the time his only show-stopper requirement was that he did not have to give up being a Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
Director. He took up his post on 17 May.
Following the end of the first season of the revived series of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
in 2005, he wrote a letter to the BBC Director-General, congratulating all involved in the project on its success, signing-off with "PS never dreamed I would ever write this. Must be going soft!"
On 19 September 2006, he became non-executive chairman of Ocado
Ocado
Ocado is a British Internet retailer specialising in groceries, headquartered in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The limited company was founded in January 2002 by Jonathan Faiman, Jason Gissing and Tim Steiner, former Goldman Sachs merchant bankers....
(the Waitrose food delivery company).
ITV plc
On 28 November 2006, Grade and the BBC confirmed that he was to resign from his post with the BBC to replace Sir Peter BurtPeter Burt
-Early life:Peter Alexander Burt was educated in Scotland. He graduated from the University of St Andrews and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and later worked in the computer industry in California and Scotland....
as Chairman and Charles Allen as Chief Executive of one of the companies which formed part of its commercial rival ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, becoming Executive Chairman of ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
effective on 8 January 2007.
Under his jurisdiction ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
as a network, has been struggling with falling advertising and ratings. Mr Grade said his first priority within ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
would be to work as a senior partner of ITV Network Limited to improve ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
programming as well as improving its own Digital Channels ITV2,ITV3,ITV4 and CITV.
On 12 September 2007, Grade announced a controversial five-year restructuring plan for ITV plc owned Regions targeting entertainment as the Broadcasters top priority to bring to ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. A major overhaul of ITV Plc's regional structure was also proposed. The proposals would see consolidation of the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
regional news programmes in England, with regions now broadcasting one service per region rather than multiple tailored local services (for example: ITV Yorkshire
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
would no longer broadcast separate Northern and Southern regions). The proposed changes would also fully merge ITV Border
Border Television
Border Television is the ITV franchise holder for the Border region, spanning the England/Scotland border and covering Dumfries & Galloway region, a small part of the south-west area of Ayrshire, the Scottish Borders, parts of north and west Northumberland and the majority of Cumbria...
with ITV Tyne Tees
Tyne Tees Television
Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
and ITV West
HTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
with ITV Westcountry
Westcountry Television
Westcountry Television, is the ITV franchise holder in the South West of England, replacing its predecessor, TSW , from the 1 January 1993...
, effectively ending two regions' tenure as independent players within ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, these proposals have been highly criticised by BECTU and The National Union of Journalists. Any changes would be subject to full approval by Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
.
In March 2009, Grade initiated libel action against another television executive, Greg Dyke
Greg Dyke
Gregory "Greg" Dyke is a British media executive, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am...
, and The Times newspaper over allegations of improper conduct made by Dyke about Grade, relating to his move from the BBC to ITV in 2006. The newspaper subsequently withdrew the allegations and published an apology, admitting that the allegations had no justification.
On 23 April 2009, Grade announced he would be stepping down as chief executive to become non-executive chairman at the conclusion of regulatory reviews into advertising contract rights and digital television before the end of 2009.
House of Lords
In January 2011, he was created a life peerLife peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Grade of Yarmouth. He was introduced in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
on 27 January 2011, and sits as a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
Personal life
Grade was created CBEOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1998, and married his third wife, Francesca Leahy in 1998; they have a son, Samuel. He was previously married to Penelope Jane Levinson (1967–1981) (now the second wife of writer and historian Sir Max Hastings
Max Hastings
Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings, FRSL is a British journalist, editor, historian and author. He is the son of Macdonald Hastings, the noted British journalist and war correspondent and Anne Scott-James, sometime editor of Harper's Bazaar.-Life and career:Hastings was educated at Charterhouse...
), with whom he had two children, and Sarah Lawson
Sarah Lawson (producer)
Sarah Lawson was an English film producer.-Career:From 1982 to 1985, she was Vice President of Planning and Development for DL Taffner Ltd, Los Angeles, and from 1995 to 1996 she was Managing Director of Anglia Television Entertainment Ltd - a joint venture between HBO and the ITV Company.She is...
, a producer. In 1998, his autobiography was published, entitled "It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time". He is a Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
fan., On 22 October 2010, Grade was in attendance at the funeral of actor and comedian Sir Norman Wisdom
Norman Wisdom
Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE was an English actor, comedian and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character Norman Pitkin...
.
Grade revealed his support for, and membership of, the Conservative Party for the first time in May 2010.
External links
- bbc.co.uk Grade goes Commercial again
- ft.com Grade's letter to staff and BBC response from BBC release
- telegraph.co.uk Grade defects to ITV
- BBC News: Michael Grade is new BBC chairman
- BBC News: Michael Grade profile
- Interview with Michael Grade - British Library sound recording