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TalkTalk would reportedly be among the most likely bidders for Channel 4 if the government privatises the broadcaster, a decision which is under consideration.

The minister who holds the future of the BBC in his hands has admitted aspects of the Corporation ‘drive me insane’ and it is ‘tempting’ to abolish it.

In an unguarded speech, Culture Secretary John Whittingdale also discussed his intention to top-slice the licence fee, claiming certain areas of programming are not ‘meeting the needs of particular communities’.

And despite insisting his support for the Corporation overall, he described it as ‘a market intervention of around £4billion by government’ – and joked that abolishing it altogether was ‘occasionally a tempting prospect’.

Culture Secretary John Whittingdale has been blasted by Gary Lineker, who called him a 'chump'

His comments were made to members of the Cambridge University Conservative Association last Friday, according to student newspaper Varsity.

When asked about the issue of impartiality complaints to the BBC, Mr Whittingdale said: ‘Sometimes they will drive me insane’.

He added that BBC Trust rulings on complaints were ‘unsatisfactory’.

A White Paper on the BBC’s future is expected to be announced next Thursday, but Mr Whittingdale hinted that licence fee funding for children’s, arts and local programmes could be handed to a third party.

He said: ‘There is a case for having some plurality, so that the decision as to what programmes are commissioned isn’t exclusively taken by the small group of commissioning editors at the BBC.

‘They will still take the overwhelming majority of those decisions, but ... there a certain areas where the BBC is not delivering programming which meets the needs of particular communities.’

The BBC could be forced to air popular shows like Strictly Come Dancing at non-peak viewing times under the charter review, according to recent reports. All will become clear when the White Paper is printed next week

Questioned about the contents of the charter renewal, Mr Whittingdale insisted it was a ‘closely guarded secret’.

But he added: ‘If we don’t renew it, it may be that the BBC will cease to exist, which is occasionally a tempting prospect.’

Although the BBC last week issued its new diversity strategy to encourage a better reflection across its workforce, it seems the power to commission more diverse programmes could also be sent elsewhere.

Leicester-born Gary Lineker (pictured) has been loving the Foxes' Premier League title win but he snapped at Mr Whittingdale on Twitter this week, describing him as a 'chump' for his attitude to the BBC

Mr Whittingdale said it was an area he was ‘looking at closely’ but that it would ‘only be a small proportion’.

His comments saw him branded a ‘chump’ by Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker.

Tweeting a link to a report on the Culture Secretary’s comments, the ex-England striker said: ‘This chump sums politicians up. The BBC is revered throughout the world. We should be proud of it, not destroy it.’

Last night a BBC spokesman said: ‘We’ll wait to see what the White Paper says, but we agreed a financial deal with the Government last year and have had assurances that’s still the deal.’