After August 1981 he was one of three trainees to join the BBC, alongside Peter Salmon (former BBC head of sport) and multi-award-winning film-maker Peter Kosminsky.[4] After the two years trainee-ship as a comedy script writer, during which he worked on The Two Ronnies, Lygo worked freelance including on the launch of Terry Wogan's BBC1 chatshow, Wogan.[3]
Lygo then left the television industry for seven years, part of which he spent in France as a dealer in Islamic art, with a gallery in Paris.[4] Persuaded by friend Richard Curtis to produce Comic Relief, he came back on a six-month contract with the BBC. He then rejoined the BBC on a permanent contract, commissioning shows including Men Behaving Badly and They Think It's All Over.[4]
He then spent 2010-2016 as managing director at ITV Studios, before becoming the director of television for the ITV Network.[1]
Lygo used the pseudonym Ruby Solomon to write the TV drama Walter (2014 film) for the BBC. He submitted the script anonymously, which he thought would be a better fit for the BBC rather than his employer. Lygo's actress daughter, Madison starred in Walter, a part he penned with his daughter in mind.[6][7]
In November 2023, Lygo attended an ITV promotional event during which he allegedly mocked politician and broadcaster Nigel Farage.[9] ITV signed Farage to appear in I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! for a reported fee of up to £1.5 million. Lygo was seen using a rude one-handed gesture. Farage finished third on his exit from the jungle, and issued a stern warning regarding Lygo's comments. He reminded the ITV boss of the repercussions that befell the former boss of NatWest, Alison Rose who was forced to resign after discussing private banking information with a BBC journalist. [10]