Dara O'Briain the new Michael Parkinson?

ITV bosses are reportedly lining up Dara O'Briain to replace Michael Parkinson when he retires later in the year.

The Irish stand-up - who also hosts BBC2's topical satire show Mock the Week - will first present his own show at 5pm. According to the plans, once producers are confident the format will work they will then move the show to a once-a-week prime-time slot where Dara will take over from Michael Parkinson as the network's A list interviewer. However, Dara's show will not air in Parkinson's old Saturday night slot as ITV think it is now a "redundant" time for a chat show.

It is believed the contract with O'Briain was drawn up after he appeared on ITV's Tough Gig - a series in which stand-up comedians had just one week to prepare for a stand-up performance in front of an un-familiar crowd. The Irish stand-up mingled with fantasy role-players for his Tough Gig. An ITV insider said: "Tough Gig didn't exactly set the world on fire with its ratings, but it showed Dara is an extremely likeable guy and one we should have on ITV more often."

Talking about the plans, an un-named source told The Sun newspaper: "We love Dara and have great plans for him. He's very warm and can get a lot out of people, which is what you want when you're interviewing stars. He's also extremely entertaining as he has a background in comedy. He'll be more like Jonathan Ross than Parky, but he's exactly the kind of upbeat host we need. It's early days but he could well be a worthy successor to Parky."