Three years ago, ITV let loose a termite in the boardroom by flouting one of the principles that shareholders hold dearest, appointing one man, Michael Grade, to be both chairman and chief executive.

Now, the full scale of the damage to the television company’s relations with shareholders has become clear. Having failed to put in place a credible succession plan for a new chief executive or chairman, the board of ITV then spent months deliberating over candidates before rejecting abruptly the shareholders’ preferred choice of Tony Ball as chief executive. The board then went back to square one by deciding to find a new chairman first.