57: Lord Michael Grade CBE – Make your mark: getting the job done

Our guest today has been described as the lord of UK TV – and he certainly has the CV to match. Lord Michael Grade is the television executive who has left an indelible mark on British television, in an industry career that spans almost 50 years. From a role as deputy controller at London Weekend Television, he has since taken the reigns at the BBC on two occasions as its controller and chairman respectively, as well as 10 years as CEO of Channel 4 and executive chairman of ITV. Known for getting the job done, he was inspired at a young age by his showbiz family, and today is still ensuring that the show must go on – most recently providing his expertise to a government panel on the future of public service broadcasting. The man who hated Dr Who, commissioned Eastenders and poached Brucie from the BBC, his is a life of stories from behind the curtain.