Greg Dyke was educated at Hayes Grammar School and later at York University where he read Politics. After an early career as a journalist, he started his broadcasting career in 1977 at London Weekend Television. He became Editor-in-Chief of TV-am in 1983 and the following year Director of Programmes for TVS. He returned to LWT in 1987 as Director of Programmes; and from 1991 to 1994 he was Group Chief Executive of LWT (Holdings) plc.

After the Granada take-over of LWT, Greg joined Pearson Television as Chief Executive. He guided the consortium which created Channel 5 and became its first Chairman During this period of his career he was also Chairman of the Independent Television Association (1992-94); Chairman of GMTV (1993-94); and at various times a director of Pearson plc, Channel Four Television, ITN and BSkyB. He was a non-Executive Director of Manchester United Football Club (1997-99), a Trustee of the Science Museum 1995-2005, and became a Fellow of the Royal Television Society in 1998.

In January 2000 he became Director General of the BBC and in his four years at the BBC he started four new digital television channels, five new digital radio channels, opened two new BBC regions, launched the BBCʼs interactive television services and helped create Freeview, a new free to air digital platform. He also made major commitments to expand the BBCʼs education services and to improve the cultural diversity of the workforce. He left the BBC in January 2004 in controversial circumstances following the report of the Hutton Inquiry. Many thousands of the BBC staff took to the streets to protest at his departure.

After leaving the BBC Greg was made the Chancellor of the University of York in December 2004, Chairman of HIT, a large international production company specialising in programmes for the under fives in 2005, and in January 2006 he became Chairman of Brentford Football Club. He is also a member of the supervisory board of ProSiebenSat.1, one of Europeʼs largest free to air broadcasting groups.

In March 2008 he succeeded the late Anthony Mingella as Chairman of the British Film Institute. His autobiography entitled Greg Dyke: Inside Story was published in September 2004 by Harper Collins.