Jon Kay joins BBC Breakfast as Victoria Derbyshire takes Newsnight job
Jon Kay to replace Dan Walker on BBC Breakfast and Victoria Derbyshire will join Newsnight as main presenter alongside Kirsty Wark following departure of Emily Maitlis to LBC
- Kay replaces Dan Walker, who hosted the morning show since 2016
- Derbyshire joins the Newsnight team following the departure of Emily Maitlis
- This comes after a series of top broadcasters quit the BBC for new ventures
Jon Kay will become the new regular presenter on BBC Breakfast, while Victoria Derbyshire will join Newsnight as joint lead presenter, the BBC has announced.
Kay replaces Dan Walker, who hosted the morning show since 2016, while Derbyshire joins the Newsnight team following the departure of Emily Maitlis who had anchored the current affairs programme since 2006.
Hull-born Kay, 52, who starts his new role with immediate effect, will be on screens from Monday to Wednesday.
He said: ‘I’m over the moon to become the new regular presenter of BBC Breakfast and I’m looking forward to bringing our brilliant viewers the very latest news each morning alongside my good friend Sally (Nugent) and the rest of the team.
‘Sitting on the famous red sofa is a real privilege while covering the stories and issues that matter to our audience – home and abroad.’
Jon Kay (pictured) will become the new regular presenter on BBC Breakfast, replacing Dan Walker
Victoria Derbyshire (pictured) joins the Newsnight team following the departure of Emily Maitlis who had anchored the current affairs programme since 2006
Following his exit from the BBC, Walker replaced Sian Williams presenting 5 News, after she announced she was stepping down in April.
Meanwhile Derbyshire, who joins Newsnight permanently in September, said: ‘I am so delighted to be joining the legend that is Kirsty Wark and the talented Newsnight team under new and ambitious leadership.
‘This is a special opportunity to take on one of the best jobs in British journalism and help shape the programme’s future. I can’t wait to champion more stories about people’s lives while holding those who represent them to account.’
Derbyshire’s eponymous daily current affairs programme was axed by the BBC in January 2020 as part of a string of cuts at the broadcaster.
An online petition calling for the corporation to reverse its decision received more than 50,000 signatures that month.
The 52-year-old presenter and newsreader has covered for Dan Walker multiple times on BBC Breakfast.
His career kicked off at the BBC as a trainee local reporter in 1993, as he worked for a local radio station.
Jon then started his first full-time job at BBC Bristol.
He first joined the BBC Breakfast team in 2010.
Since then, he has been the BBC’s south and west of England correspondent as well as foreign correspondent, working in places like Los Angeles and Washington DC.
Since then, Derbyshire has presented across various BBC News services.
The Newsnight permanent team now comprises Derbyshire and Kirsty Wark as lead presenters, with Faisal Islam continuing to present regularly.
Newsnight editor Stewart Maclean said: ‘Victoria is one of the most tenacious journalists in the business, with a fantastic ability to ask the straightforward questions our viewers want answered, and a shelf-full of major awards for her work. We’re delighted she’s joining us on Newsnight as a lead presenter alongside Kirsty.
‘It’s an exciting time for Newsnight, and Victoria and Kirsty will be a formidable partnership at the heart of our presenter line-up.’
Jonathan Munro, Interim Director of BBC News, said: ‘It’s fantastic to be appointing two such talented presenters to start and finish the day on two of our most important news programmes.
‘Jon’s a hugely experienced journalist who’s established himself as a favourite with BBC Breakfast viewers, and Victoria’s a formidable interviewer with an amazing connection to her audiences. Congratulations to both of them.’
This comes after a series of top broadcasters quit the BBC for new ventures.
Last month, Lewis Goodall announced he was ditching the broadcaster to join Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel as a co-host on their LBC news podcast.
The Newsnight editor left his role at Broadcasting House and join Leicester Square-based Global, which is also home to Nick Ferrari, Eddie Mair, Shelagh Fogarty and James O’Brien.
He will become Global’s new analysis and investigations editor, while being a co-host on Ms Maitlis and Mr Sopel’s daily news podcast.
Dan Walker (pictured) previously hosted the BBC’s morning show since 2016
Ms Maitlis and Mr Sopel announced in February that they would be leaving the BBC for their new venture at Global
Mr Goodall – whose salary is not published by the BBC, suggesting it is under £150,000 – was the latest top news star to jump ship at the corporation, which is facing a £1.4billion hole in its finances after the licence fee was frozen until 2024.
Mr Goodall said he will be leaving the current affairs show for his new role in September.
The 32-year-old, who joined Newsnight as policy editor in January 2020, said it has been a ‘privilege’ to work on the programme but it is ‘so important to keep yourself challenged’.
Ms Maitlis and Mr Sopel announced in February that they would be leaving the BBC for their new venture at Global.
One LBC insider previously told MailOnline that Ms Maitlis will now be on ‘at least’ £400,000-a-year, with Mr Sopel likely to be through the £300,000-a-year barrier, but it ‘could be more’ because of the number of projects they will work on together.
Veteran journalist Andrew Marr also announced he was moving to Global after 21 years with the BBC corporation last November.
Marr joined the broadcaster as political editor in May 2000 and later spent 16 years at the helm of his own Sunday morning show.
In February 2020, former deputy political editor John Pienaar announced he was leaving the BBC to join Times Radio after nearly three decades.
Later that year, the Andrew Neil Show was a casualty of BBC cuts, following the broadcaster’s announcement in 2016 that it needed to save £800 million, with around £80 million of that figure coming from news.
Neil later announced that he was to be the face and chairman of GB News, signalling the end of his relationship with the BBC, where he has been one of the most respected political interviewers.
The former Sunday Times editor has since stepped down from GB News, joining Channel 4 for a new Sunday night political show which launched in May.
However, in April the BBC dismissed the brain drain of top talent ditching the broadcaster as ‘people come, people go’.
The BBC ‘brain drain’: How top talent like Sopel, Marr and Maitlis walked out on top salaries in row over ‘frustrating’ impartiality rules
Emily Maitlis was the former host of BBC Newsnight and had worked at the broadcaster since 2001.
In 2022, she left former to host a daily radio show and podcast for LBC with BBC journalist Jon Sopel, who had worked a variety of top-dog roles there since 1983.
The broadcasters earned more than £550,000 at the BBC, but they have been given pay rises of £75,000 or more, experts predicted.
Andrew Neil and Simon McCoy have also left the BBC in the last two years.
As has Andrew Marr – who is said to have admitted he was prompted to leave the BBC because of his desire to speak freely on major issues, including climate change and politics.
Maitlis, Sopel and Marr jumped ship for LBC in a golden handcuffs deal expected to earn them huge pay rises.
Dan Walker also announced he left the BBC to be lead anchor on Channel 5’s revamped 5News team – where he’ll make around £350,000.
Dan Walker was the latest on-air star to ditch the BBC after he joined Channel 5 News. He is pictured on BBC Breakfast
Pictured: Andrew Marr presents new radio shows on LBC and Classic FM
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