'Cut-the-crap' Taurean, Greg Dyke, has been a zodiac Bull in a china shop again with his remark that much-loved sports presenter Des Lynam looks "tired and doesn't care any more". Some say this is just more sour grapes from the BBC boss, still miffed at losing Lynam and the Premier League highlights to ITV, but Lynam himself is deeply offended after giving 'faultless service' to the BBC for over three decades.

No surprise, then, that our Des is a Virgo (September 17 1942), known for its touchiness in the face of criticism. This perfectionist sign also prides itself on being conscientious and hard-working, so Dyke has touched a Virgo nerve by questioning Lynam's professionalism.

The comment probably hit the mark at a personal level because beneath the unruffled surface, Lynam is currently experiencing the travails of his second, twenty-nine year Saturn Cycle. Under the influence of get-real Saturn, the planet of age and wrinkles, time begins to tell and this planet doesn't let us kid ourselves any longer. During the period of Saturn's Cycle, all our goals can be called into question, and even the best of jobs or lifestyles can seem wearisome. The fun must have gone out of things for Lynam in the last year or so, especially as the ITV ratings began to slip.

But all of this is only a temporary dark cloud in a well-starred horoscope. Lynam's Virgo qualities have made him a master of his craft, and although, with a touch of Libra, his smooth presentation makes it all look so easy, behind the relaxed manner we find Virgo's true gifts: precise attention to detail, a wealth of facts, and a sharp, Mercurial mind which can plan thoroughly and adapt speedily.

But what gives Lynam such a huge public appeal? It seems to come from his enthusiastic, sports-loving Sagittarian Moon, linked to a wonderfully lucky Jupiter. This lifts him out of small-focus, nervy Virgo and gives him a sense of the big picture, able to take everything in his stride while juggling live broadcasts. Slights and criticisms are also mere pinpricks as far as Jupiter is concerned, easily laughed off without the need to justify oneself.

Saturn's downbeat influence lies behind Lynam's earlier suggestion that he would retire at sixty (this year or next), but his horoscope tells a different story. The self-doubting Saturn phase will be over at the end of April, and he begins the home run for a glorious progression of Sun to expansive Jupiter in 2004. This, according to astrologer Alan Leo, is "one of the finest and most fortunate of solar influences. it denotes that the native has reached an epoch in his life, for the opportunities that are now before him surpass those he has had in the past or will have in the future ... he will obtain advancement and social successes, and will have the satisfaction of seeing his ambitions gratified." (The Progressed Horoscope). So ITV can stop worrying. Des Lynam looks all set to remain the golden boy of sports presenting for a good few years to come.