Former BSkyB boss Airey joins ITV

Dawn Airey will take up her new role later this year

ITV has appointed Dawn Airey - formerly with BSkyB and Five - as its director of global content.

She returns to the channel after beginning her broadcasting career with Central TV in 1985.

Ms Airey's duties will include overseeing the channel's international businesses which make versions of hits such as I'm A Celebrity.

ITV's executive chairman Michael Grade praised Ms Airey as a "dynamic, creative business leader".

He said her appointment had "significantly strengthened" the channel's senior management team.

'Exciting time'

Ms Airey will be responsible for developing ITV's UK and international production, distribution and content exploitation businesses.

She will report to ITV's chief operating officer John Cresswell, and will take up the post later this year.

"It's an incredibly exciting time to be joining ITV and I'm looking forward to working with some of the UK's best production talent," Ms Airey said.

After her early experience with ITV and Channel 4, Ms Airey moved to Five in 1996 as director of programmes, becoming chief executive in 2000.

In 2003 she became managing director of Sky Networks with responsibility for all of the satellite broadcaster's wholly-owned channels.

Airey stood down from BSkyB in December to join a media start-up group called Iostar, but left within days.