Mr Bleasdale added that opinions of Liverpool as a strong and industrious city were improving. He said: "The BBC chairman Michael Grade was in Liverpool for a lunch a few weeks ago with civic leaders and people from the arts and he was very impressed with what Liverpool has to offer. "He was very enthusiastic about the place. "I'm confident that there will be a lot more work for people in this city who are involved in television. "Liverpool is getting bigger and bigger regarding the arts, TV and cinema." The overall effect of the move was likely to be good for Merseyside as a result of the jobs move to Manchester. Mr Bleasdale added: "It can be nothing but positive news but whether it is big news remains to be seen. "I'm certainly hopeful for the future, it's not the usual kicking that Liverpool gets, far from it." Meanwhile rumours that the job losses could rise far higher than the original estimate were dismissed by the BBC. Director-general Mark Thompson sought to reassure staff over the scale of future job losses saying that the suggestion that the amount could rise to 10,000 were "wild exaggeration". Yesterday he told BBC Radio 4 listeners: "I think there will be some additional job losses announced over coming months, but nothing like getting up to that figure. He added that the cuts were "painful" but showed the was thinking hard about giving the licence fee-payer value for money. Mr Thompson said charter renewal focused the national debate on where the BBC should go, but he added: "These are things we would have to do anyway, I think. The BBC plans to spend the 320m per year saved through the job cuts on better quality programming - ditching reality and makeover shows in favour of more drama, news and current affairs. clareusher@dailypost.co.uk | 
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