Michael Grade 'to be offered peerage'

Former BBC and ITV chairman Michael Grade is to be handed a seat in the House of Lords, media sources have claimed.

An official announcement of Grade's peerage is expected to be made today when the Conservative party nominates up to 30 working peers. Labour and Liberal Democrats are also expected to ennoble around 25 people between them.

Grade, the nephew of showbiz star Sir Lew Grade, is regarded as one of the leading figures in the broadcasting industry after a career spanning six decades, including time spent as a journalist, TV producer and senior manager at ITV, the BBC and Channel 4.

He is expected to take the Conservative whip after expressing his support for David Cameron before the general election in May. He is also a member of the party.

Grade left his post as executive chairman of ITV at the end of last year, after making the shock move to the commercial broadcaster in 2006 from the BBC.

However, his turbulent reign at ITV included presiding over a plunge in advertising revenues during the recession, before eventually being forced out by shareholders.

He remains chairman of the film studio business Pinewood Shepperton, where he recently survived a revolt from investors.