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December 17, 2018updated 30 Sep 2022 7:15am

Moira Stuart moving to Classic FM to read morning news

By Freddy Mayhew

BBC newsreader Moira Stuart is joining Classic FM to present the morning news from February next year.

Stuart will read the news from 6am to 10am – during the radio station’s breakfast show and its flagship morning programme with John Suchet.

The broadcaster will go on to present her own Saturday afternoon show – Moira Stuart’s Hall of Fame Concert – from July next year and a new weekend show in the autumn.

“I couldn’t be more excited and delighted to be joining the Classic FM family,” said Stuart. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to take a whole new journey, with people I really like and admire.”

Stuart has been at the BBC for more than 40 years, during which time she became a household name presenting evening news bulletins.

She left the corporation in 2007, prompting claims she was a victim of age discrimination, before returning to read the news on BBC Radio 2’s breakfast show in 2010. She joined alongside Chris Evans, who is moving to Virgin Radio’s Breakfast Show in the New Year.

Sam Jackson, managing editor of Classic FM, said: “Moira is a broadcasting legend and is known to millions of people on television and radio, so I am thrilled that she has chosen Classic FM as her new home.

“Her passion for classical music and decades of experience make her the perfect addition to our 2019 line-up.

“From her morning news bulletins to her new weekend show – and with another new series to follow – I know that our 5.2m weekly listeners will join me in welcoming her to Classic FM next year.”

Stuart was paid up to £170,000 at the BBC, according to top on-air talent salaries released earlier this year. This was down from the up to £200,000 salary revealed when the figures were first published last year.

Classic FM is part of Global, which also owns LBC and Capital FM.

Picture: Global

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