- Born
- Birth nameMichael Ian Grade
- For Michael Grade, a distinguished and highly successful career in showbusiness appeared to be in the genes. Born in 1943 in London, England, his father was Leslie Grade and his uncles were Lew Grade and Bernard Delfont. Grade became a trainee journalist on the Daily Mirror in 1960 (he was their sports columnist 1964 - 1966). In 1973 he became deputy controller of entertainment programmes at London Weekend Television.
In 1984, Grade gained one of the most prestigious positions in British broadcasting when he became controller of BBC One. He became BBC TV's director of programmes two years later. During his brief but significant stint at the BBC he was noted for his brave and controversial decisions, which included delaying production for 18 months of the corporation's legendary science fiction series Doctor Who (1963), which he openly criticised in interviews, and then ordering that Colin Baker be replaced as its star in 1986, as well as commissioning the controversial Dennis Potter play The Singing Detective (1986).
He was also the man who recognised the potential of the new soap opera EastEnders (1985), which he gave a prominent twice-weekly slot, and he broadcast the Live Aid (1985) rock concert.
Another success during Grade's time was Blackadder II (1986), which he commissioned on the condition it would be an improvement on Blackadder (1982), which he judged an expensive failure. His tenure was notable for boosting BBC One's ratings, not least through the introduction of several popular and long-lasting soap operas. As well as EastEnders (1985), there was the seafaring soap opera Howards' Way (1985), hospital series Casualty (1986) and the Australian import Neighbours (1985).
In 1988, he became chief executive at Channel 4 television, replacing Jeremy Isaacs. During this time he was to face unprecedented levels of criticism and the channel's output earned him the label "the pornographer-in-chief" from the Daily Mail newspaper. But Grade was also responsible for bringing the hugely popular American series ER (1994) and Friends (1994) to British TV. He eventually left Channel 4 in 1997. He has since taken major roles at numerous companies, including First Leisure, Camelot and the Millennium Dome project. He was appointed Chairman of the BBC in 2004. His remarkably successful career in broadcasting was recognised by a CBE in 1998. A supporter of the Conservative Party, he was made a peer in 2011 and became known as Lord Grade. In 2012 he reported in an interview with the Radio Times that he had ended up completely won over by the revival series of Doctor Who (2005), which he described as "a classy, popular triumph for people of all ages and all backgrounds, real value for money for our licence fee payers." "From clunky Daleks that couldn't go up and down stairs to the filmic qualities today of Doctor Who, it's a transformation. The show still leaves me cold, but I admire it, which I never did before." Always a busy man, Grade's favourite leisure pursuit is sailing.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
- SpousesFrancesca Mary Leahy(1998 - present) (1 child)Sarah Lawson(1982 - 1991) (divorced)Penelope Jane Levinson(1967 - 1981) (divorced, 2 children)
- His cigars and red braces
- He is the nephew of Lew Grade and Bernard Delfont and the son of Leslie Grade. He is the brother of agent Anita Land. He has a son, Samuel, with third wife Francesca.
- He loves opera and supports Charlton Athletic Football Club.
- In April 2004, he was appointed Chairman of the BBC Board of Governors. In November 2006, Grade and the BBC confirmed that he was to resign from his post with the BBC to replace Sir Peter Burt as Chairman and Charles Allen as Chief Executive of commercial rival ITV. In early 2007, he became Executive Chairman of ITV plc.
- He is an Associate Member of RADA.
- He is often erroneously referred to as the BBC One controller who cancelled the original series of Doctor Who (1963). Actually, he put it on an 18 month hiatus in 1985 and brought it back in September 1986. He also made the decision to remove Colin Baker from the lead role in 1986. The series was actually permanently cancelled by Peter Cregeen, the Head of Series at the BBC in 1989, when Jonathan Powell was controller of BBC One and two years after Grade had left the BBC.
- [on becoming the chairman of the BBC] I would like to thank those who appointed me for having the courage to break the mold.
- [on television watchdog Mary Whitehouse] I think she had little or no effect on the content of television, but she was a very sincere campaigner and she and I debated all over the land about the content of television. She was witty, she was a great debater, she was very courageous and she had a very sincere view but it was out of touch entirely with the real world.
- [on Mary Whitehouse] She really wanted television to be propaganda for a very moral view of the world, not the imperfect world we live in. She was really detached from the reality of the creative process.
- The basic ethic of broadcasting in this country is trust.
- [in 2007] We are in an age today where there has been a huge influx of young talent into the industry as it expands. They have not been trained properly, they don't understand that you do not lie to audiences at any time, in any show - whether it's news or whether it's a quiz show. It's desperately important that we restore trust and that the programme-makers get to understand - whether through hard lessons or through training or a combination of both - that you do not lie to audiences under any circumstances.
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