Patten, who stands down from his EU role later this year, is seen as an ideal candidate for the government as it seeks an appointee with no ties to Labour. Gavyn Davies and director general Greg Dyke, who both departed last week, had ties to New Labour and were sensitive to charges of cronyism.
The former Conservative Party MP and chairman has been backed by a number of leading figures in the industry including Lord Puttnam, the film-maker and Labour peer.
Lord Puttnam told The Observer newspaper: "He [Patten] would be the type of person I think would command tremendous respect. If you'd looked for the core reason of Gavyn Davies and Greg Dyke going it was probably because they were over-neurotic about being seen as Tony's cronies."
Other candidates in the running for the chairman's job are Labour peer Baroness Jay, broadcaster David Dimbleby, former ITC chief Patricia Hodgson, Conservative MP Michael Portillo, and former Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard editor Sir Max Hastings.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
