Showman Michael Grade does it again, and quits ITV

Michael Grade, one of British television's most colourful executives, is giving up his job - one of the most difficult in television - it was announced this morning. He is stepping down as executive chairman of ITV, though he will remain in the non-executive role of chairman.

The struggling independent company - once the BBC's major rival for viewers, but increasingly sidelined in the media revolution, and struggling for advertising revenue - is now looking for a new boss.

Grade's decision to quit comes only days after it emerged that he had issued a writ against the Times newspaper over a comment article by Greg Dyke, the former BBC director-general, published on March 7. In the offending article, Dyke, another high-profile and flamboyant TV executive, criticised Grade for his decision to buy the rights to the FA Cup and questioned whether he had a long-term strategic plan for ITV.

Grade apparently demanded an apology for the article, which the Times refused.

Grade's decision to quit his full-time executive role at the age of 66 will surprise many who thought he had the energy to go on forever, like his uncle Lew Grade who was one of the driving forces behind commerical television, working almost until his death at the age of 92.

But Michael Grade, known throughout the TV world for his red braces and fat cigars, loves to surprise: his move to ITV in November 2006 was an extraordinary act of showmanship. He had only been chairman of the BBC for two-and-a-half years when he defected to the opposition. The news was leaked just in time for the BBC's own 10 O'Clock News where both the anchor Huw Edwards and media correspondent Nick Higham looked stunned as they reported their boss's departure.

It wasn't the first time he had jumped ship, either. In 1987 Grade quit the BBC - where his landmarks moments as a senior executive included the launch of EastEnders and the decision to televise LiveAid - to become chief executive of Channel 4, a job he held for a record nine years.

Whoever steps forward to pick up the pieces at ITV will be a brave man or woman. One obvious contender is Greg Dyke.