Bridget Brennan joins David Speers and Sarah Ferguson as top contender to host 7.30

Indigenous affairs editor Bridget Brennan. ABC chiefs have approached potential hosts after Leigh Sales announced last week she would step down as 7.30’s anchor. Photograph: Twitter

Three candidates have emerged as frontrunners to replace Leigh Sales as the host of 7.30 – David Speers, Bridget Brennan and Sarah Ferguson – as the ABC prepares its flagship current affairs program for a new era.

Speers, the current host of Sunday morning’s political panel show Insiders, and Brennan, the broadcaster’s Indigenous affairs editor, are two contenders the ABC is seriously considering alongside Ferguson, Guardian Australia understands.