As Liam Hamilton takes over from Maureen Duffy as head of daytime television at ITV, can he pick up the pieces of his career after his sojourn in dot.com land?

As a creative and talented Leo (August 12 1959), Hamilton is a man who likes to feel he is at the hub of things, and with the daytime schedules at ITV in tatters since the departure of Richard and Judy, his new job will need all the organising and managerial qualities of this dynamic sign. His Leo is helped by a good dose of earthy Virgo, which gives him an eye for detail, although he may sometimes get fussy and over critical when he just needs to let go.

For Hamilton, it must be relief beyond belief to get back on terra firma after several years of dancing in the dark. His troubles began with the big solar eclipse on his birthday in August 1999, the very month that his nemesis, WorldPop, was launched. Jacking in his post as managing director of LTV, he joined the cross-media internet venture in May 2000, just before the dot.com crash. Eclipses are particularly difficult for sunny Leos who always need to shine, and three more solar eclipses since then have dogged his horoscope, clouding his judgment and putting him in the shadows.

Like all Leos, Hamilton is a top-notch performer with a competitive streak, and his sense of singularity is heightened by a conjunction of his Sun with independent, leading edge Uranus: "Innovative, inventive, progressive... unique self-expression is central and you may take pride in being different or special... your essence flows easily toward the new, the future, and the unusual" (Maritha Pottenger, Astro Essentials).

Exciting as this may be, it doesn't always do him a lot of good, especially during the next few years. At the end of this year, sober Saturn gives him a testing time, and it will be an uphill struggle to find the right recipe for success with the daytime schedules. But since the hidden strength in his horoscope comes from Saturn, this is Liam Hamilton's opportunity to make his mark. This ambitious planet is well placed at his birth, and it thrives in a corporate world with firm structures and long-term goals.

Its connection to powerful Pluto is also a key to future success. Astrologer Maritha Pottenger advises him that "a father figure...fed your desire to 'make it', to achieve security and to be successful in conventional, material terms". She also suggests: "You may intuitively understand authority figures, and could understand how to manipulate them successfully. You are quite sensitive to the nuances revolving around the handling of power, mastery, control and dominance, and could work successfully from behind the scenes (Astro Essentials).

All of which is not the fun, thrills and excitement which Liam's colourful Leo Lion wants, but being in with the suits for the long haul is his best way forward now.