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The broadcaster, which currently has its main late night news programme at 10.30, is set to restore 'News at Ten' sometime next year. It is reported that Sir Trevor will be joined by Julia Etchingham, who currently presents Sky News Today.

ITV's decision to resurrect 'News at Ten' comes after the channel's chairman Michael Grade described its decision to axe the programme as "a shocking mistake", but its return will impact on ITV's late night entertainment programming.

The return of 'News at Ten' will put the programme head to head with BBC One's 'Ten O'Clock News'. The BBC moved its main nine o'clock news bulletin to 10 o'clock when ITV scrapped 'News at Ten'.

Grade has made no secret of his desire to bring back the programme, which has been consistently moved around ITV's late-night schedules to accommodate dramas and movies, leading it to be dubbed 'News at When' by critics.

'News at Ten' was axed in 1999 after 32 years following a review by the then ITC, which was persuaded that its removal would free up the channel to broadcast more late-night drama, major football matches and network premieres.

MacDonald, who retired as an ITV newsreader in December 2005, has since then been involved in a number of other broadcast projects, including the satirical 'News Knight With Sir Trevor MacDonald' and fronting 'Britain's Favourite View'.

In March, Grade said axing 'News at Ten' was "a shocking mistake [that] damaged ITV more than anything. How we put that right we shall see. It's a highly competitive environment and the effect of any changes is dissipated by advance notice."

ITV has not yet officially confirmed the return of 'News at Ten', stating "there is always speculation over the schedules".

Talk of the return of ITV's former flagship news show comes as ITV faces a possible investigation by the Serious Fraud Office over the latest telephone competition scandal.