Twenty-three apply for BBC chairman job

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has received 23 applicants for the role of chairman of the BBC.

Applications closed on Wednesday for the £140,000-a-year job, which Michael Grade vacated at the end of last year to take the executive chairman role at ITV.

Confirmed applicants reportedly include executive chair of Millwall football club Heather Rabbatts, also a former BBC governor, and John Beyer, director of Mediawatch. Other names linked to the role include Chirtra Bharucha, vice-chair of the BBC Trust and acting chair, Dermot Gleeson, construction giant and BBC Trustee and former leader of the House of Lords, Lady Jay.

According to the The Times, Question Time presenter David Dimbleby, who has been passed over for the job twice before, has not applied for the job. Lord Puttnam, another potential candidate, also ruled himself out of the running last week.