Luke Johnson to assist C4 chief exec hunt

Outgoing Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson is to help in the search for a new chief executive for the public service broadcaster.

Despite the fact that Johnson will leave his post at the end of the month to be replaced by Lord Terry Burns, he will still sit on the interview panel when candidates are screened next week.

However, it is unclear how much of a say Johnson will have in the eventual selection of a successor to Andy Duncan, who left his post last November, according to The Guardian.

Candidates in the running for the role include BBC chief operating officer Caroline Thomson, Talkback Thames chief executive Lorraine Heggessey and current Channel 4 director of television Kevin Lygo.

They have reportedly been joined by Alex Graham, founder of production firm Wall to Wall, and UKTV chief executive Dave Abraham. However, ITV director of television Peter Fincham is not thought to be in contention at this stage.

Channel 4 deputy chairman Lord David Puttnam will also sit on the interview panel, along with the government's digital inclusion champion Martha Lane Fox and Royal Opera House chief executive Tony Hall.

Even though Burns does not officially take over from Johnson until January 27, he has already begun work on helping to identify a new chief executive for the broadcaster.

However, the former Abbey National chairman has previously stated that Channel 4 will not be forced into a rushed appointment.

Since founder Sir Jeremy Isaacs departed in 1987, Channel 4 has usually sourced BBC talent for its chief executive officer and has never appointed an internal candidate to the role.