McIntyre not stepping into Ross' shoes

Michael McIntyre will not replace Jonathan Ross.

BBC bosses had been trying to convince the comedian to take over departing presenter Jonathan’s Friday night chat show– but he has told friends he isn’t interested in taking the prestigious prime time position.

A friend said: "He's flattered that he's being touted as a successor as he loves working at the BBC. But he'll never take that chat show role.

“That's not what he wants to do. He's a comedian, not a talk show host. His home is Saturday nights, that's where he does his thing. That's where he prefers to be."

Michael – whose present contract ties him to the BBC until the end of the year – also has other channels interested in working with him.

An ITV source told The Sun Newspaper: "We're interested in Michael. He has a broad appeal, he would be perfect for us."

Michael's snub leaves Chris Evans in pole position to take over from Jonathan, after he leaves in July.

Former ‘TFI Friday’ presenter Chris – who this week took the place of Terry Wogan on Radio 2's breakfast show– has previously admitted he would be interested in returning to TV.

Harry Hill is the people's choice to succeed Jonathan, according to a survey of more than 4,000 Yahoo! TV users conducted a day after BBC executives blocked Graham Norton's bid to step up for the prized presenting role.