The BBC's director of vision, Jana Bennett, will take temporary charge of BBC1 following the departure of controller Jay Hunt.
Channel 4 confirmed today that Hunt will be joining as chief creative officer, probably in January. Julian Bellamy, who has been acting chief creative officer, will be leaving Channel 4.
Bennett has told staff she will be responsible for all commissioning decisions at the channel until a replacement for Hunt is appointed, along with George Dixon, the head of broadcasting at BBC1.
Candidates for the vacant post include BBC3 controller Danny Cohen, who is being hotly tipped for the role by some insiders at the corporation since it emerged at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival late last month that Hunt was being lined up for the Channel 4 job.
There has been speculation that Cohen had been lined up to replace Hunt as soon as she departed for Channel 4.
A BBC source said that the search for a new controller would be a "thorough" one, however, and insisted that there would be no "shoo-in" for the job. It is unclear how long the recruitment process will take.
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