New chief promises reinvention of Channel 4 to restore glory

Mark Thompson, the chief executive of Channel 4, has denounced the errors of his predecessor and pledged to rebuild the channel from scratch.

Speaking at the announcement of his winter schedule, Mr Thompson said the company had been distracted by its digital entertainment channel and other commercial ventures but would now concentrateon Channel 4's programming schedule. He said: "From now on, we're never going to forget the most important thing we do is Channel 4 itself."

In a further tacit acceptance of the company's recent tribulations, Mr Thompson played downthe channel's20th anniversary next month, saying that the company was on a "war footing".

Instead, Channel 4 would work on recapturing the "spirit of adventure and courage" that had initially characterised it.

He said: "Right now we're in the middle of the biggest creative reinvention of Channel 4 in its history. In such an atmosphere of change, it is understandable if our anniversary feels like a bit of a distraction."

Channel 4 has appeared rattled in recent weeks after Channel 5's ratings beat some of its most eagerly awaited programmes. But Mr Thompson dismissed his rival's success, saying it had been achieved "by avoiding originality at every possible cost".

There will be more pain for Channel 4 before any of the benefits of bigger budgets kick in, because it is due to announce redundancies tomorrow. More than 10 per cent of the 1,000-strong staff are thought to be at risk.

Meanwhile, Kevin Lygo, the director of programmes at Channel 5, suggested Channel 4 should ditch its many sex programmes if it wanted to be seen as innovative.