RTL supremo in surprise departure

Didier Bellens is to depart abruptly as chief executive of RTL to take a job in his native Belgium after reports that he had a major falling out with the parent group Bertelsmann.

Mr Bellens, 47, is said to have been left with no choice but to go after Germany's privately-owned media giant Bertelsmann was taken back under control by its founding family. German media reports have said that the Mohn family wanted the French-speaking Mr Bellens out.

An industry source said: "They [the Mohns] don't want a tough, outspoken Belgian running the largest division. They don't think he fits. I'll bet his replacement is a German."

Mr Bellens has run RTL, which owns the majority of Britain's Channel 5, for three years and he has won plaudits for his management. Channel 5 in particular is considered to be a success story, growing audience and credibility. Mr Bellen's departure raises questions over the future of Channel 5.

He will go to head Belgacom, the Belgian state-owned telecoms group. The appointment followed the intervention of the Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, who phoned Mr Bellens to offer him the job.

Belgian's Telecoms Minister, Rik Daems, said: "[Mr] Bellens has a proven leadership capacity, experience with processes of change and strategic insight." The appointment takes effect on 1 March.

"Didier would have preferred to stay [at RTL] but not under these circumstances," the industry source said.

After the removal of Bertelsmann's ambitious chief executive, Thomas Middelhoff, last summer, the group has adopted a much more conservative strategy and abandoned some of its international plans. The professional management has been sidelined by the Mohns at the company's headquarters in Gutersloh. Bertelsmann said yesterday: "We accept the decision of Didier Bellens, thank him for the successful co-operation and wish him much success for his new job."