Huw Edwards’ resignation will allow the BBC to formally start the process of appointing a replacement lead presenter for the coveted News at Ten slot.
Since Edwards’ suspension in July 2023, various presenters have filled in.
If the corporation seeks to appoint one main presenter, rather than sharing the role between several as it has done on an interim basis, two candidates appear to lead the field: Clive Myrie and Reeta Chakrabarti.
A recent analysis by the Times showed that of more than 200 News at Six and News at Ten programmes between 26 July and 5 December, Chakrabarti fronted 72 bulletins – slightly more than Myrie’s 69 appearances.
A BBC report showed Myrie, 59, was paid between £285,000 to £289,000 last year while Chakrabarti, also 59, received between £215,000 to £219,000.
Of the other contenders, Sophie Raworth, who was paid between £365,000 and £369,999 last year, has appeared 64 times over the period. This is ahead of Jane Hill, whose salary does not appear on last year’s list, at 21 times. Fiona Bruce, who was paid between £395,000 and £399,999, appeared 12 times.
Raworth, 55, became the interim presenter of BBC One’s Sunday Morning programme after Andrew Marr left the BBC. The slot is now hosted by Laura Kuenssberg.
Hill, 54, is the main presenter on the BBC News at One and the BBC News at Five. She is also infrequently on Radio 4’s The World Tonight.
Bruce, 59, hosts Question Time, having taken over from David Dimbleby in 2019, and is the lead presenter of Antiques Roadshow and Fake Or Fortune?
The broadcaster will also be seeking a replacement to anchor its main election night coverage.
Myrie is said to be the strong favourite in the newsroom for the election night gig. But nobody is ruling out the possibility of the BBC deciding in favour of a political heavyweight such as Kuenssberg or Nick Robinson over a more general news presenter.
