Nigel Pickard, currently the BBC's controller of children's programmes, will replace David Liddiment as ITV director of programmes.

Mr Pickard has spent most of his career in commercial TV

During his two years at the BBC, Mr Pickard revived Bill and Ben, Basil Brush and the Play School windows - as well as launching two children's channels on digital TV.

His new position is a vital one at the ITV network, which is currently undergoing a crippling advertising slump and has also seen ratings fall.

He will be in charge of spending £825m on programmes in 2003 - an increase of £50m since 2001.

His surprise appointment comes as the two main ITV broadcasters, Granada and Carlton, forge ahead with plans to create a stronger, single ITV company.

Mr Pickard has spent most of his career making children's shows for commercial companies, and there may be concerns that his lack of experience in drama could cause a problem.

I look forward to taking up the challenge of maintaining ITV's unique position in the UK

Nigel Pickard

He left ITV to join the BBC in 2000, and recently launched two new digital children's channels, CBBC and Cbeebies, which have experienced mixed fortunes.

His BBC stint also saw him axe BBC One's Saturday morning show Live and Kicking, which was comprehensively outperformed by ITV's SM:tv - a show he commissioned while at the commercial network.

Mr Pickard was head of children's and youth programmes at ITV from 1998, and steered its children's output to the dominant position in the ratings for the first time in 13 years.

Mr Pickard said his new appointment came at an "extremely exciting" time for ITV and offered enormous opportunities for the future.

Basil Brush returned to screens on CBBC in September

"I have enjoyed my time at the BBC immensely but the chance to return to ITV when the corporate focus is so clearly back on the core channel business is something I just couldn't turn down," he said.

"I look forward to taking up the challenge of maintaining ITV's unique position in the UK market and to developing the strength of its channel portfolio."

Mick Desmond, joint managing director of ITV, hailed the move as a "great appointment" for ITV.

"He has a wealth of experience in commercial broadcasting plus a successful track record in both children's and multi-channel television, two of the most competitive areas of the business," he said.

David Liddiment, who has been a fierce critic of the BBC, leaves ITV at the end of 2002.

ITV bosses will hope news of his replacement will reassure advertisers that the channel can fight back in the ratings battle.