Lord Burns, the former permanent secretary to the Treasury, is set to replace Luke Johnson as Channel 4 chairman, MediaGuardian.co.uk can reveal.
Media regulator Ofcom is expected to announce the new Channel 4 chairman this week, possibly as early as today. Burns, whose nickname is "Lord Fixit", is understood to be the favourite to take the job in government circles.
Other contenders for the post have included Richard Eyre, a former chief executive of ITV, and Lord Alli, the Labour peer and co-founder of production company Planet 24.
It is thought that Ofcom wanted to appoint a woman to the post, but a series of high-profile female candidates, including Dianne Thompson, the chief executive of lottery operator Camelot, have quietly ruled themselves out of the running.
Ofcom declined to comment.
Burns, 65, has been chairman of Abbey, now owned by Spanish banking giant Santander, since February 2002.
He is best known in the media industry for leading a review of the BBC's role for former culture secretary Tessa Jowell in the runup to the renewal of the corporation's 10-year royal charter in late 2006.
Burns was regarded as a heavyweight candidate for the top job at Ofcom when it was created in 2003 and was also in the running for the chairmanship of the BBC in 2001, when Sir Christopher Bland stood down. The job went to Gavyn Davies.
He also chaired the government's inquiry into hunting with dogs, memorably concluding that the practice "seriously compromises the welfare of the fox".
Burns has also been chairman of the National Lottery Commission, which licenses and regulates the lottery; and led a review of the way the FA, football's governing body, was run in 2004 after it was hit by a string of scandals.
In Whitehall circles, the former grammar school boy from the north-east is also known as "Teflon Terry" because of his ability to ride out scandals.
If he is appointed at Channel 4, he will face a series of strategic challenges, including how to engineer a joint venture with BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm. That is crucial to securing the broadcaster's future after its plea for public money was rejected by government.
Burns's first major task will be choosing the next chief executive, after Andy Duncan leaves before the end of the year.
The new management team are also likely to have to deal with a Conservative government that has promised to crack down on Channel 4 and BBC executive salaries if the Tories win the election next year, as seems likely.
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