Ailing Channel Five could find itself with a new owner as early as this week after Richard Desmond, proprietor of the daily Express, Daily Star and OK! Magazine, tabled a £100m bid for the station.

Also in the running are Channel 4 and a US broadcaster, thought to be either Time Warner or NBC Universal, but Desmond’s bid has the fewest regulatory hurdles to clear.

Current owners RTL have slashed the value of their TV station to a mere fifth of its 2007 value of £500m.

Buyers have been put off purchasing the channel, which reported losses of £35m last year, over concerns over foreign programming deals such as a lifetime commitment to contribute funding to the production of Aussie soap, Home & Away.

Desmond is said to be interested in partnering with either Channel 4 or BSkyB to beef up negotiating power with advertisers along with possibility of developing cross media ad sales with his publishing empire.