Editing Michael Grade (section)

===LWT===
Grade entered the television industry in 1973 when he joined [[London Weekend Television]] (LWT) as deputy controller of programmes (entertainment).<ref name="Newcomb">Steve Bryant "Grade, Michael (1943– )" in Horace Newcomb (ed.) ''Encyclopedia of Television''], Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2004, pp. 1020–21</ref> During this time he bought the scripts of an African-American<!-- Contemoporary usage in 1976. --> sitcom ''[[Good Times]]'' which had an all-black cast.<ref>Howard Malchow [https://books.google.com/books?id=l8xT0epJ5OoC&pg=PA189 ''Special Relations: The Americanization of Britain?''], Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2011, p.189</ref> Adapted as ''[[The Fosters (1976 TV series)|The Fosters]]'' (1976–1977), it became the first British sitcom to have an entirely black cast. At LWT, Grade worked with both [[John Birt]] and [[Greg Dyke]].

After he became director of programmes in 1977, Grade commissioned the series ''[[Mind Your Language]]'', but later cancelled it. At an event at the [[Edinburgh International Television Festival|Edinburgh Television Festival]] in 1985, he agreed that the series was racist, and said that "it was really irresponsible of us to put it out".<ref>Sarita Malik [https://books.google.com/books?id=kY_xA-5d1VkC&pg=PA97 ''Representing Black Britain: Black and Asian Images on Television''], Thousand Oaks, California: Sage, 2002, p.97</ref> In what was termed 'Snatch of the Day' by the press in 1978, Grade attempted the acquisition of exclusive screening rights to [[The Football League|Football League]] matches. Previously the BBC had held the more desirable rights, but the [[Office of Fair Trading]] intervened, and Grade's purchase was revoked. The package of recorded highlights on Saturday evenings now alternates each season between ITV and the BBC.<ref>Tim Bradford [https://books.google.com/books?id=an7Vc7XIXsYC&pg=PT822 ''When Saturday Comes''], London: Penguin, 2005, pp. 882–83<!-- Page number retrieved from the html address, but the Kindle edition has only 477 pages. --></ref>

Also in 1978, Grade managed to place under contract the entertainer [[Bruce Forsyth]] who had helped the BBC to dominate the Saturday evening television ratings through the decade via ''[[The Generation Game]]'' series. His new vehicle was titled ''Bruce Forsyth's Big Night'' and was intended to feature all his talents in one programme lasting two hours. The budget was £2million for a fourteen-week run.<ref>Jules Stenson [https://books.google.com/books?id=i_gpoToGeywC&pg=PT91 ''Brucie: The Biography of Sir Bruce Forsyth''], London: John Blake Publishing, p.88</ref> The new series was considered a disaster, with the press turning against the host, but did achieve an initial audience of 14 million.<ref>Bruce Forsyth [https://books.google.com/books?id=XcYLmLuXxYMC&pg=PP198&lpg=PP198 ''Bruce: The Autobiography''], London: Pan, 2001, p.198</ref> ''The Generation Game'', with new host Larry Grayson, managed to achieve a larger audience.<ref>Joe Moran [https://books.google.com/books?id=sfZEAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT195 ''Armchair Nation: An intimate history of Britain in front of the TV''], London: Profile Books, 2013, p.195</ref> LWT's ''Big Night'' was not recommissioned.

Grade announced at a press conference in May 1979 that LWT had secured a contract with a production company formed by television dramatist [[Dennis Potter]] and his producer [[Kenith Trodd]].<ref>John R. Cook [https://books.google.com/books?id=JXi7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA102 ''Dennis Potter: A Life on Screen''], Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998, pp. 102–3</ref> The corporate association proved short-lived, with both sides having insufficient experience for budgeting drama shot on film, and was terminated by Grade in the summer of 1980.<ref name="Cook194">Cook ''Dennis Potter'', pp. 194–97</ref> Only three of what had been projected as six filmed plays by Potter were shot and screened.<ref>Humphrey Carpenter ''Dennis Potter'', London: Faber, 1999 [1998], p.394</ref> Grade though, was directly involved with some of the playwright's later commissions.

Grade approved production of ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]'' and initiated the long-running arts' programme ''[[The South Bank Show]]''.<ref name="Mason">{{cite news| last=Rowena |first=Mason |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/5206668/Michael-Grade-at-ITV-it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time.html |title=Michael Grade at ITV: it seemed like a good idea at the time |work=The Telegraph |date=23 April 2009 |access-date=27 March 2022}}</ref>

In 1981, Grade left LWT to begin a two-year period as the president of [[Embassy Television]] in the United States. In ''The Times'' he was quoted as stating, "It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; it is, if you like, a gamble I want to take".<ref>{{cite news | title=American TV post for Michael Grade | first=Kenneth | last=Gosling | newspaper=[[The Times]] | date=22 September 1981 | page=12}}</ref> His pay rose from £32,000 to $250,000 per annum.<ref name="Gibson">Janine Gibson and Maggie Brown [https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/apr/03/broadcasting.politicsandthemedia3 "Amid the suits, a man who stands out"], ''The Guardian'', 3 April 2004</ref> During this time he was largely involved in developing and selling sitcoms in this period: "When you read 30 or 40 comedy scripts a week, you get a bit barking."<ref name="Freedland"/> Grade also produced a series for the only time in his career, a nine-part adaptation of ''[[Kane and Abel (novel)|Kane and Abel]]'', the novel by [[Jeffrey Archer]]. In a ''[[The Jewish Chronicle|Jewish Chronicle]]'' interview with [[Michael Freedland]] in 2011, Grade said he had "missed public service broadcasting, real drama, news, current affairs".<ref name="Freedland"/>