The Lord Grade of Yarmouth | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Chairman ofOfcom | |
| Assumed office 1 May 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Maggie Carver (acting) |
| Chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC | |
| In office 17 May 2004 – 28 November 2006 | |
| Preceded by | The Lord Ryder of Wensum (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Anthony Salz (acting) |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Life peerage 25 January 2011 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Ian Grade (1943-03-08)8 March 1943 (age 82) London, England |
| Party | None (non-affiliated) |
| Other political affiliations | Conservative (until 2022) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent |
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| Relatives |
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| Education | Stowe School St Dunstan's College |
| Occupation |
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Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth (born 8 March 1943) is an Englishtelevision executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller ofBBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive ofChannel 4 (1988–1997),chairman of the board of governors of the BBC (2004–2006), and executive chairman ofITV plc (2007–2009).[1] He sat as aConservative Partylife peer in theHouse of Lords from 2011 until after his appointment as chair ofOfcom, beginning in May 2022, and became anon-affiliated peer.[2]
Grade was born into aJewish show business family originally called Winogradsky.[3] His father was the theatrical agentLeslie Grade, and his uncles were the impresariosLew Grade andBernard Delfont.[4] His family emigrated fromTokmak in present-dayUkraine in the 1910s.[5] When he was three years old, his non-Jewish mother (Lynn Smith) left the family to conduct a relationship with wrestling commentatorKent Walton. Grade was brought up by his paternal grandmother, and he only saw his mother once more as an adult.[3] He was educated atStowe School in Buckinghamshire andSt Dunstan's College in London.[6]
Grade joined theDaily Mirror in 1960, and was a sports columnist from 1964 to 1966. By his own account (as related onChannel 4 chat showThe LateClive James), the job had been organised by his father. When Leslie Grade suffered a serious stroke in 1966, the 23-year-old Michael moved into his theatrical business. In 1969, he moved to London Management & Representation. Among the artists whom Grade represented wereMorecambe and Wise (he successfully negotiated the duo's defection fromATV toBBC2 in 1968) andLarry Grayson.
Grade entered the television industry in 1973 when he joinedLondon Weekend Television (LWT) as deputy controller of programmes (entertainment).[7] During this time he bought the scripts of an African-American sitcomGood Times which had an all-black cast.[8] Adapted asThe Fosters (1976–1977), it became the first British sitcom to have an entirely black cast. At LWT, Grade worked with bothJohn Birt andGreg Dyke.
After he became director of programmes in 1977, Grade commissioned the seriesMind Your Language, but later cancelled it. At an event at theEdinburgh Television Festival in 1985, he agreed that the series was racist, and said that "it was really irresponsible of us to put it out".[9] In what was termed 'Snatch of the Day' by the press in 1978, Grade attempted the acquisition of exclusive screening rights toFootball League matches. Previously the BBC had held the more desirable rights, but theOffice of Fair Trading intervened, and Grade's purchase was revoked. The package of recorded highlights on Saturday evenings now alternates each season between ITV and the BBC.[10]
Also in 1978, Grade managed to place under contract the entertainerBruce Forsyth who had helped the BBC to dominate the Saturday evening television ratings through the decade viaThe Generation Game series. His new vehicle was titledBruce Forsyth's Big Night and was intended to feature all his talents in one programme lasting two hours. The budget was £2million for a fourteen-week run.[11] The new series was considered a disaster, with the press turning against the host, but did achieve an initial audience of 14 million.[12]The Generation Game, with new host Larry Grayson, managed to achieve a larger audience.[13] LWT'sBig Night was not recommissioned.
Grade announced at a press conference in May 1979 that LWT had secured a contract with a production company formed by television dramatistDennis Potter and his producerKenith Trodd.[14] The corporate association proved short-lived, with both sides having insufficient experience for budgeting drama shot on film, and was terminated by Grade in the summer of 1980.[15] Only three of what had been projected as six filmed plays by Potter were shot and screened.[16] Grade though, was directly involved with some of the playwright's later commissions.
Grade approved production ofThe Professionals and initiated the long-running arts' programmeThe South Bank Show.[17]
In 1981, Grade left LWT to begin a two-year period as the president ofEmbassy Television in the United States. InThe Times he was quoted as stating, "It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; it is, if you like, a gamble I want to take".[18] His pay rose from £32,000 to $250,000 per annum.[19] During this time he was largely involved in developing and selling sitcoms in this period: "When you read 30 or 40 comedy scripts a week, you get a bit barking."[3] Grade also produced a series for the only time in his career, a nine-part adaptation ofKane and Abel, the novel byJeffrey Archer. In aJewish Chronicle interview withMichael Freedland in 2011, Grade said he had "missed public service broadcasting, real drama, news, current affairs".[3]
In early summer 1984,Bill Cotton recruited Grade forBBC Television,[20] where he became controller ofBBC 1 on 1 September 1984,[21][22] taking, as he told Michael Freedland, "the biggest pay cut in history"; his salary went down from $500,000, excluding large bonuses, to £37,000 a year.[3] Later he became director of programmes in 1986,[7] and managing director designate in 1987, before leaving the BBC at the end of 1987. His three-year tenure as a BBC controller was controversial.
Grade cancelled the rights to screenDallas while fightingThames Television for the rights to the series (although this decision was subsequently reversed). He cut short the expensive serialisation ofThe Tripods trilogy, written byJohn Christopher, because he was dissatisfied with the ratings it had achieved after two series. He also considered cancelling the sitcomBlackadder, judging the first series to be unfunny.[19] In exchange for renewingBlackadder, he required that it become a wholly studio-based production on a lower budget.[23]
Grade agreed to commissionDennis Potter's serialThe Singing Detective (1986) after a brief meeting withJonathan Powell, then the BBC's head of drama.[24] It was a highlight of this period, but came under criticism fromMary Whitehouse and the tabloid press for its content.[25] Referring to the depiction of an illicit sexual encounter in episode three, Grade said: "There are very few people in television drama that you are prepared to trust with scenes like this. But Dennis Potter is one of them".[26]
During his time as controller, Grade was also responsible for purchasing the Australian soap operaNeighbours for BBC1's newdaytime schedule; it debuted on British television on 27 October 1986. He was also responsible for repeatingNeighbours, at first exclusively an afternoon programme, in a latertimeslot (on the advice of his daughter, Alison, who was annoyed that she could not watch it because she was at school). This proved to be a successful scheduling decision, with audiences in excess of 18 million for the new 5.35 pm broadcasts. Other successes during Grade's tenure included the debut of soap operasEastEnders andHowards' Way in 1985 and the hospital dramaCasualty in 1986. He was also praised byBob Geldof for agreeing to broadcast the charity rock concertLive Aid for 24 hours.[27]
In November 1984 he decided to end screeningbeauty pageants, stating, "I believe these contests no longer merit national air time. They are an anachronism in this day and age of equality and verging on the offensive."[28]
Grade announced on 27 February 1985 thatseason 23 ofDoctor Who, which was scheduled to be transmitted from January to March 1986, would be postponed as he had decided that the programme's budget would be better spent on other drama productions.[29] What became an 18-month hiatus forDoctor Who (the series did not resume transmission until September 1986) prompted a strong reaction from viewers. Grade was also noted for his strong dislike of the series, such as in an interview in 2004, where he said: "I thought it was horrible, awful. I thought it was so outdated. It was just a little show for a few pointy headDoctor Who fans. It was also very violent and it had lost its magic".[30] In an appearance on the BBC'sRoom 101 in 2002, Grade chose the series as one of his hates, criticised its production values and said that he had little interest in, or sympathy for, science fiction.
Eric Saward, thescript editor ofDoctor Who at the time of its suspension, responded to Grade's criticism a few years later. In his view, Grade's comments were unfair because he was in the position to allocate more resources to the programme and thus improve its quality.[31] ActressKaty Manning, who had portrayeda companion ofJon Pertwee's Doctor, praised Grade's treatment of the series on the DVD commentary forThe Mind of Evil (1971). In her view, Grade "was actually doing the right thing", and she credited the long break prior to 2005 with rejuvenating the series.[32]
The decision in the autumn of 1986 thatseason 24 ofDoctor Who could only happen on the condition thatColin Baker was removed from thetitle role has been attributed to Grade, with him reportedly describing Baker's portrayal as "absolutely God-awful". It has also been suggested that Grade was influenced by a romantic relationship with Baker's ex-wife,Liza Goddard.[33] In 2022, Grade denied both that the decision to fire Baker was his and any personal relationship with Goddard.[34] Baker's immediate predecessor in the role,Peter Davison, argued in 2018 that the decision to dismiss the actor was more to do with the executives wanting to get rid of the series' producer,John Nathan-Turner, saying: "I was upset about what happened, really – because, first of all, it wasn't to do with Colin, I know that. It was to do with other issues. The power structure in the BBC had changed and they didn't want John Nathan-Turner around is the truth of it."[35]
Following the end of thefirst series of the revivedDoctor Who in 2005, Grade wrote a letter toMark Thompson, theDirector-General of the BBC, congratulating all involved in the production on its success, signing-off with "PS never dreamed I would ever write this. Must be going soft!"[36] In an interview forRadio Times in 2012, Grade commented: "From clunkyDaleks that couldn't go up and down stairs to the filmic qualities today ofDoctor Who, it's a transformation... The show still leaves me cold, but I admire it, which I never did before."[24]
Grade left the BBC in 1987 after an unsuccessful application to succeedAlasdair Milne as director-general and a conflict with the corporation's new deputy director-general,John Birt, a former friend and colleague at London Weekend Television.[37] He accepted the post of chief executive ofChannel 4, succeedingJeremy Isaacs, and took up his position at the beginning of 1988.[7] Isaacs criticised Grade's appointment and threatened to "throttle" Grade if the nature of the channel was altered.[38]
Grade phased out some of its more high-brow programming, for which he was accused of "dumbing down". His 1991 decision to axe the long-running and widely admired discussion seriesAfter Dark is detailedhere. Grade stated that in the same week that he moved to Channel 4, it had shown a repeat of the 1984 adaptation ofThe Far Pavilions, featuring American actressAmy Irving "blacked up" as an Indian princess. During this period, he was also criticised by the conservative press:Daily Mail columnistPaul Johnson dubbed him Britain's "pornographer-in-chief".[39][40]
In addition to securing talent from the BBC, Grade recognised the improving quality of US television output, making series such asFriends andER the mainstays of the channel's schedule. In 1994, while at Channel 4, he was awarded theBAFTA fellowship in recognition of "an exceptional contribution" to television.[41]
In 1997, Grade became involved in a dispute withChris Morris regarding the satireBrass Eye after repeatedly intervening in the production to order edits to various episodes, and rescheduling some instalments for sensitivity. Morris responded by inserting a frame stating "Grade is a cunt" into the final episode of the first run.[42] In the same year, Grade left Channel 4 to headFirst Leisure Corporation but departed two years later following a substantial internal re-structuring. His next job was as the chairman of the new Pinewood and Shepperton film studios company.
Grade was on the board of the poorly receivedMillennium Dome project, and has served as chairman of Octopus Publishing, theCamelot Group, and Hemscott (a position that he intends to relinquish).
Grade had ambitions to become chairman of theBBC board of governors in 2001, but was beaten to the post byGavyn Davies. Following Davies' resignation in the aftermath of theHutton Inquiry report, it was announced on 2 April 2004 that Grade had been appointed BBC chairman; his only demand was that he would not have to give up his job as a director ofCharlton Athletic F.C. He took up his post on 17 May.
On 19 September 2006, Grade became non-executive chairman of online food delivery companyOcado.[43] He resigned[44] from the role on 23 January 2013, and was succeeded by SirStuart Rose.[45][46][47]
On 28 November 2006, Grade and the BBC confirmed that he was to resign from his position within the corporation to replace SirPeter Burt as chairman, andCharles Allen as chief executive, of one of the companies forming part of its commercial rival,ITV. He became executive chairman ofITV plc on 8 January 2007.
During Grade's tenure, ITV struggled with falling advertising revenue and viewing figures. Upon appointment, Grade announced that his first priority would be to work as a senior partner at ITV Network Limited to improve ITV programming, as well as strengthen its digital channels,ITV2,ITV3,ITV4 andCITV. On 12 September 2007, Grade announced a controversial five-year re-structuring plan for ITV plc-owned regions,[48] selecting entertainment as the top priority. A major overhaul of ITV plc's regional structure was also proposed.[49]
The plans resulted in the consolidation of the ITV regional news programmes in England, with regions now broadcasting a single service per region rather than multiple, specialised, local services. For example,ITV Yorkshire would no longer broadcast in separate northern and southern regions. They mergedITV Border withITV Tyne Tees, andITV West withITV Westcountry, effectively ending two regions' tenure as independent players within ITV. The proposals were criticised byBECTU and theNational Union of Journalists.[49] Any such changes would be subject to approval byOfcom.
In March 2009, Grade initiated libel action against another television executive,Greg Dyke, andThe 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.[50]
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 TV, at some point before the end of 2009.[1]
Grade revealed his membership of theConservative Party for the first time in May 2010.[51] On 25 January 2011, he was created alife peer, as Baron Grade of Yarmouth,ofYarmouth in the County of Isle of Wight.[52] He was introduced in theHouse of Lords on 27 January[53] and sat as a Conservative until moving to become non-affiliated as part of his role as chairman of Ofcom.[2]
In March 2022, theSecond Johnson ministry appointed Grade to a four-year term as chairman ofOfcom, effective from 1 May 2022.[54][2] In June 2022, the BBC's official historian,Jean Seaton, publicly said that Grade "is too lazy, too old, and has too many conflicts of interest", and called his appointment a means of "bullying" the BBC.[55] Noting Grade's public approval of the right-wing political activistLaurence Fox's appearance on the BBC'sQuestion Time,[56] journalistGeorge Monbiot raised concerns about Ofcom's impartiality under his leadership, and following misinformation preceding the2024 United Kingdom riots, Monbiot accused Ofcom of a failure to properly respond to rule-breaking behaviour by outlets such asGB News "while continuing to enforce [rules] against less partisan media".[57]
Grade was appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire in 1998.[58] That same year, he published hisautobiography,It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, and married his third wife, Francesca Leahy; they have a son, Samuel.
Grade was previously married to Penelope Jane Levinson (1967–1981) (she later married writer and historianSir Max Hastings), by whom he has two children, andSarah Lawson (1982–1991), a film producer.
Grade is a fan ofCharlton Athletic F.C.[59]
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), BBC Guide to Comedy (c.2003) via the Wayback Machine| Cultural offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President of theRoyal Television Society 1995–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Media offices | ||
| Preceded by | Controller ofBBC1 1984–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Executive ofChannel 4 1987–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC 2004–2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Executive Chairman ofITV plc 2007–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Gentlemen Baron Grade of Yarmouth | Followed by |
| International | |
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| National | |
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| Other | |
