Bharucha could become first woman to lead BBC

BBC Trust vice-chairman Chitra Bharucha, will become acting chair of the Trust with immediate effect, following Michael Grade's departure to ITV.

Bharucha will be the first woman to take the lead role at the corporation, when the Trust assumes its responsibilities for regulation and governance of the BBC, at the beginning of January.

An Indian-born doctor, Bharucha worked as a haematologist in Northern Ireland and currently chairs the fitness to practise adjudication panel of the General Medical Council.

She was previously the Northern Ireland member of the independent television commission and on the BBC broadcasting council for Northern Ireland. She has also been on the Advertising Standards Authority's broadcast council.

Bharucha will take up the acting BBC chairman role from Anthony Salz, who is currently deputy chairman of the board of governors, which the Trust will replace. Salz is not joining the BBC Trust and will be leaving his role at the corporation at the end of the year.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport hopes to advertise the BBC Trust chairmanship in the national press as soon as possible, but it is likely the process will not be completed until well into the new year.

This is because the government must follow the Nolan rules, which state applications for the chairmanship must be scrutinised by a government panel, which can take time. When Gavyn Davies resigned after the Hutton report was published in late January 2004, it was two months before culture secretary Tessa Jowell announced Micheal Grade as the new chairman. He eventually started the role in May.