MEDIA: Behind the Hype - Johnson can be key at a crucial time for Channel 4.

Luke Johnson has his part to play as Channel 4 tries to rebuild, Jeremy Lee writes.

It was inevitable that the appointment of Luke Johnson as the new chairman of Channel 4 would be overshadowed by the rather more dramatic events occurring at the BBC. But the newspapers still took time, and no doubt some delight, in revealing that his only other experience of TV was an appearance on the BBC series Back to the Floor.

As the chairman of Signature Restaurants (which owns among others The Ivy and Le Caprice), Johnson was persuaded to become a waiter in one of his Belgo eateries. It was not a great success - Johnson ended up ripping off his microphone, telling the producer to 'shove' the programme.

Johnson, 41, was a surprise choice for the job of replacing Vanni Treves at Channel 4, with all the wise money going on Penny Hughes, the former head of Coca- Cola's UK operation.

Instead, Ofcom, in consultation with Channel 4, appointed a man whose father, the journalist Paul Johnson, has been one of the station's fiercest critics. It was Johnson senior who described the former Channel 4 chief executive Michael Grade as 'the pornographer in chief'.

Historically, the post of chairman of Channel 4 has been one for grandees from the business world. The incumbent before Treves, who is the chairman of the assurance company Equitable Life, was Sir Michael Bishop, the founder of the budget airline bmi.

The post carries with it an annual stipend of pounds 67,500 per year and given Channel 4's public service remit and the challenges it faces, carries some responsibility.