Luke Johnson gets top Channel 4 job

THE City was stunned today by the controversial appointment of Luke Johnson, the multimillionaire best known for floating Pizza Express, as the new head of Channel 4.

Traders and analysts were left speechless as Ofcom, the new super regulator of the media and communications industries, hailed the entrepreneur's 'passion for public service broadcasting'.

Johnson is remembered in the Square Mile for blowing his top when working as a waiter on the Back To The Floor series. He ripped off his microphone and told the BBC producer to 'shove' his programme.

Critics were amazed by the move, approved by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, given Johnson's meagre track record in broadcasting and his reputation for being curt and abrasive with journalists.

The 42-year-old is also thought to have fallen out with his former executives at PizzaExpress including Hugh Osmond, his friend and fellow medic at university.

Johnson teamed up with Osmond in 1989 to buy stricken companies and after diversifying into nightclubs, the pair used their Star Computer vehicle to launch a reverse takeover of the famous pizza chain.

The entrepreneur failed in an attempt to buy back the business last year but still holds an interest in the catering world as chairman of Signature Restaurants, the owner of Le Caprice and the Ivy.

Johnson said: 'Channel 4 plays a critically important role at the heart of UK public sector broadcasting. I am very excited by this opportunity to help guide its development in the future.'