C4 appoints 'Teflon Terry' as chairman

Published on Thursday 5 November 2009 20:34

CHANNEL 4 finally resolved its leadership crisis yesterday, appointing former civil servant Lord Burns as chairman.

After months of speculation, media regulator Ofcom confirmed Burns had agreed to take the top job. It is understood C4 had been keen to appoint a woman but failed to attract a suitable female candidate.

Burns has acquired the nickname "Teflon Terry" during his career given his ability to seamlessly glide from one controversial job to another.

He was permanent secretary to the Treasury between 1991 and 1998 and was involved in Britain's humiliating retreat from the exchange-rate mechanism.

He has also overseen a string of controversial reviews on issues such as fox-hunting and the National Lottery. He was previously chairman of Marks & Spencer and currently holds the chairmanship of Abbey.

Burns' first role will be to find a replacement chief executive at C4 for Andy Duncan, who has indicated he wants to depart the embattled broadcaster by the end of the year.

Burns will also face some tough decisions over its future. C4 has warned that it is facing a 150 million funding gap in 2012 when the government flips the switch on analogue television and advertising income at the terrestrial channels is expected to fall off a cliff. C4 has been in talks this year with the BBC over a possible tie-up with BBC Worldwide, but an agreement has so far failed to materialise.

Burns said yesterday: "This is a time of great change as we experience the impact of the rapid development of digital technology, and Channel 4 has a very special and continuing role to play."