BBC One is the biggest individual news source in the UK, reaching 62% of online adults last year according to Ofcom.
The broadcast regulator also reported a growth in audiences of all ages using BBC TV news services last year.
Here we have a rundown of the presenters of BBC Breakfast, BBC News at One, News at Six and News at Ten as of 31 August 2022.
Who are the BBC Breakfast presenters?
BBC Breakfast broadcasts on BBC One daily, and covers topics from sports to weather, from news to business. The programme has a major impact on the daily news agenda, as interviews with cabinet ministers and other high-profile politicians frequently make headlines.
A lot has changed since the first BBC Breakfast show in 1983, such as presenters, schedule and even the name. It used to be called Breakfast Time, and it lasted 150 minutes. Today, it goes on from 6am to 9am, divided into sections for each field, from sports to weather.
Here is the list of all BBC Breakfast news presenters:
Naga Munchetty
Naga Munchetty is one of the most prominent figures on BBC Breakfast. She started in 2014, usually covering the slots from Thursday through to Saturday. As the BBC’s website describes: “She enjoys asking questions that the audience would like to ask.”
She started her TV career at Reuters Financial Television, going on to work at CNBC Europe, Channel 4 News and Bloomberg Television, before joining the BBC Working Lunch team in 2008.
Munchetty was at the centre of controversy regarding former US President Donald Trump’s tweets in 2020. During a Breakfast programme, Munchetty and co-host Dan Walker discussed a tweet by Trump in which he had stated that some US congresswomen of colour should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came”. In response, Munchetty said that this kind of comment was “embedded in racism”.
The BBC’s executive complaints unit believed that her comment went against the BBC’s guidelines on impartiality after a viewer sent a complaint. However BBC director general Lord Hall overturned the ruling after more than 40 prominent black media figures wrote an open letter about it to the broadcaster. “Racism is racism and the BBC is not impartial on the topic,” he said.
Munchetty’s career includes many big name interviews such as Sir David Attenborough and Mick Jagger.
Sally Nugent
Sally Nugent has been part of the BBC Breakfast team for almost ten years as a sports presenter, but she started her journalism career more than 25 years ago. She is now one of the main presenters on the show.
As a sports journalist, she covered major stories like the Grand National in 1997, the UEFA Cup campaign in 2001 and the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
In 2003, she became a sports reporter for BBC News, before moving to the BBC News Channel (then BBC News 24). Her CV also includes being a news correspondent on TV for outlets like Sportsday.
Nugent joined BBC Breakfast in 2011 as a freelance reporter, presenting bulletins on the programme. A decade later in October 2021, she became a core presenter, replacing Louise Minchin.
Charlie Stayt
Born in Gloucester, Charlie Stayt started working on the radio hosting Capital Radio’s news show The Way It Is, as well as working for LBC and BBC Radio 5 Live later on.
He started his television career at ITN in 1995, working on Five News, where he covered the tragic events of 9/11. After working at ITN for almost a decade, Stayt also worked for Sky News and hosted two live reality shows: Jailbreak and Are You Telepathic.
In 2006, Stayt joined BBC Breakfast as a relief presenter. A year later, he got promoted as its Friday-Sunday presenter. Today, he covers the Thursday-Saturday slot with Naga Munchetty.
Carol Kirkwood
Carol Kirkwood was born in Morar, and after her graduation from Edinburgh Napier University in 1984 she joined the BBC’s secretarial reserve in London.
Kirkwood then started working for the BBC’s Religious Broadcasting department on Radio Scotland, Radio 4 and Radio 2. After more career moves in 1993, such as producing and hosting a bi-monthly show called Talking Issues, and after completing meteorological training, Kirkwood joined the BBC Weather Centre in 1998.
The presenter was also named best TV Weather Presenter at the Television and Radio Industries Club Awards nine times.
She is now the main BBC Breakfast weather presenter and has been since 2013.
Nina Warhurst
Journalist, newsreader, television presenter and actress Nina Warhurst is currently a business and consumer presenter on BBC Breakfast.
She was born in Manchester and graduated from the University of Edinburgh in History and Politics, then pursued a Postgraduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Westminster.
The year 1997 saw the start of her television career, on the Christmas special of Casualty, Heartbeat in 1998 and Butterfly Collectors in 1999. Her broadcasting career, on the other hand, started in Moscow in 2005.
Warhurst became part of The Guardian’s Manchester regional television channel Channel M, presenting its breakfast programme in 2007. Three years later she started working at the BBC, specifically, BBC East Midlands, hosting the show East Midlands Today.
In 2016 she became a political editor at BBC North West, after covering the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil for BBC Sport.
Now acting as a business presenter, Warhurst began working at BBC Breakfast in 2018 on a freelance basis until 2020 when she was promoted to one of BBC Breakfast’s main presenters.
Jon Kay
Hull-born Jon Kay grew up in Cheshire before moving to California for a year. The three years he spent in Devon studying politics at Exeter University gave him the chance to join its radio programmes, which inspired him to start a career in broadcast journalism.
The presenter joined the BBC in 1993 as a trainee reporter and then got a full-time position at BBC Bristol. He decided to move to London shortly after, pursuing a career as a political reporter and news correspondent.
Kay embarked on a one-year-long journey around the world with his wife, going through China, Central America, Australasia and South East Asia. During their stay in Mexico, however, they were caught in a hurricane but were both able to return safely to the UK.
On his return, Kay became a correspondent for national TV and radio for the BBC. Today, he is a regular presenter on BBC Breakfast, from Monday to Wednesday every week.
Mike Bushell
Mike Bushell is one of the main sports presenters on BBC Breakfast. During his time covering sports on Saturday mornings, he has been able to try out over 400 different sports.
In his early life, he played football, cricket and hockey at school, but his other passion was acting, leading him to pursue a degree in theatre and television. He actually stumbled upon journalism by chance, as he was trying to make ends meet and got a job at a local newspaper in Winchester.
He started his Saturday morning show in 2006 and, since then, he has been trying to venture into discourse about less popular or known sports, alongside the most common ones. A few examples are cage cricket and nurdling.
Bushell also covered the Olympics and the Winter Games, as well as other major sports events.
Who are the News at One presenters?
The BBC’s flagship afternoon news show is a staple for audiences at home, with audiences reaching as many as 4.2 million viewers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
These are the regular faces that make up the show’s roster:
Victoria Derbyshire
Lancashire-born Victoria Derbyshire studied English Literature and Language at the University of Liverpool and achieved a postgraduate diploma in Radio and TV Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, before beginning her career at BBC Radio 5 in 1998.
During her time at Radio 5, Derbyshire covered major historical events like 9/11 and the Paris Concorde Crash. She worked in radio until 2014, but began her transition to television in 2011. Her first appearance on television was on the show Have I Got News For You.
The broadcaster has become a household name despite overcoming a difficult and traumatic childhood. She has publicly discussed her father’s physical abuse of her family and her subsequent estrangement from him.
In 2015, the journalist announced that she was fighting breast cancer, but she never lost her motivation to work.
Since her show Victoria Derbyshire – which first aired in 2015 – was cancelled in 2020, Derbyshire has worked on BBC News at 9 on BBC Two, BBC World News and BBC News at One. From September 2022, Derbyshire will become one of the main presenters of BBC Newsnight.
Reeta Chakrabarti
Reeta Chakrabarti is known for presenting BBC News at One, BBC News at Six, BBC News at Ten and BBC Weekend News, as well as appearing occasionally on BBC World News.
Chakrabarti was born in London but was raised in Birmingham in her early youth. She moved to India when she was a teenager, where she attended the Calcutta International School and then King Edward VI High School for Girls in the UK. Chakrabarti graduated in English and French from Exeter College, Oxford in 1988.
Chakrabarti started out in radio working as a producer on BBC Radio 4 and working on the Today Programme, before becoming a reporter on 5 Live Breakfast. In 1992, she switched to BBC Radio 1.
In 1997, she joined television by becoming the BBC Community Affairs Correspondent and then Political Correspondent. Chakrabarti reported across multiple platforms: BBC1, BBC2, BBC News Channel, BBC Radio 4, and BBC Radio 5 Live. She covered mostly political news such as three General Elections but, when she became Education Correspondent in 2010, she started covering more social affairs.
Before starting her career, Chakrabarti had her mind set on a different kind of journalism: “I thought I wanted to go into print journalism, but a very nice woman at BBC Radio in Birmingham took me under her wing and said ‘look, come and work with me’. That is how I became a broadcaster and I love it.”
Ben Brown
Ben Brown is currently a presenter on BBC News at One, BBC Weekend News, BBC News at Ten and BBC World News.
He is the son of the ITN newscaster Antony Brown, and he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Keble College, Oxford, under an Open Scholarship. Brown also graduated from the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies with a postgraduate diploma.
His career started as a reporter for Radio Clyde in Glasgow, and later as a reporter for Radio City in Liverpool. In 1986, Brown joined Independent Radio News and two years later he joined BBC TV News as a Foreign Affairs Correspondent.
Reporting events like the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the civil war in Chechnya in 1992, he was awarded many international prizes, including the Bayeux War Correspondent of the Year Award and the Golden Nymph Award at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival in the same year, 1994.
Jane Hill
Born in Sussex, Jane Amanda Hill is one of the main presenters at BBC News, covering BBC News at One, at Six, and at Ten.
She studied Politics at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, in 1991. In the same year, she joined the BBC full-time. Hill completed the BBC journalism training programme and then joined BBC Radio 5 Live, where she worked for 18 months.
Hill was then hired at the BBC News 24-hour channel in 1997, where she not only covered the 9/11 attack, but also the first anniversary commemorations at Ground Zero. She also covered the Iraq war and the disappearance of Madeline McCann.
Who are the News at Six presenters?
BBC News at Six is one of the most watched TV programmes in the UK, with five episodes in the top 20 of all shows in the week of 15 August 2022.
The current main presenters are:
George Alagiah
George Alagiah has been one of the main BBC News at Six presenters since 2007.
Alagiah received his primary education in Ghana, West Africa; his secondary education took place in Portsmouth. He then went to university at Van Mildert College, Durham University, where he read politics.
He joined the BBC in 1989, after seven years of journalism with South Magazine. Before becoming a presenter, he acted as a correspondent in South Africa, and he reported on events such as the genocide in Rwanda and the civil wars in Sierra Leone.
Alagiah joined BBC News at Six in 2003 as a relief presenter and became the main presenter in 2007.
Throughout his career, he was able to interview personalities such as Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.
Alagiah was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, and he told a podcast this year: “Probably… it will get me in the end. I’m hoping it’s a long time from now, but I am very lucky.”
Alagiah announced he was taking a break from presenting in October 2021 for treatment but was able to come back in April this year.
Sophie Raworth
Sophie Raworth is a senior newsreader and is one of the main presenters of BBC News, BBC News at Six and BBC News at Ten.
Raworth grew up in Middlesex and got a degree in French and German at the University of Manchester, later obtaining a Master’s in Broadcast Journalism at City, University of London.
In 1992, the journalist first joined the BBC as a news reporter. She then moved to national television in 1997, to co-host BBC’s Breakfast News on BBC One, alongside first Justin Webb and then John Nicolson.
After joining BBC’s early morning news show Breakfast in 2000, Raworth moved to BBC News at Six in 2003. She has presented various shows since then, such as Watchdog Daily and Crimewatch.
She has been the main relief presenter on BBC News at Six and BBC News at Ten since 2009.
Clive Myrie
Clive Myrie was born in Bolton, Lancashire to Jamaican immigrant parents. He graduated from the University of Sussex with a BA in Law.
In 1987, Myrie joined the BBC as a trainee local radio reporter. Nine years later, he became a foreign correspondent for the BBC and has reported from over 80 countries since then. Being the BBC’s Tokyo, Los Angeles and Paris correspondent, the broadcaster had the chance to encompass major stories throughout the years, such as the impeachment of President Bill Clinton and the Iraq War.
Myrie has also presented on BBC World News covering events like the 2016 US Election as well as appearing on World News Today. In 2019, he began presenting on BBC News at Six and BBC News at Ten and covered the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine as a BBC anchor.
Of going to a warzone, Myrie told Headlines Network’s Behind the Headlines podcast: “…we’re not trying to be heroes. We’re just doing our job… [going to a war zone] is a free choice and it’s vital that you are not compelled to work in a hostile environment, because if you are not feeling comfortable in yourself in that kind of stressful situation then that’s when you start, potentially, making mistakes.”
Who are the News at Ten presenters?
Formerly known as the BBC Ten O’Clock News, it is the evening news programme for the BBC News channel and BBC One. It airs every day at 10pm.
The main presenters are Huw Edwards, Clive Myrie, Sophie Raworth and Reeta Chakrabarti. The weekend editions also see Mishal Husain at the helm as well as Myrie.
Huw Edwards
Huw Edwards is a Welsh journalist, presenter and newsreader. He mainly presents BBC News at Ten, however, he is also occasionally a relief presenter for BBC News at Six, BBC News at One, BBC Weekend News and Daily Politics.
Edwards is very proud of his Welsh heritage. After his first degree in French at the University College, Cardiff, Edwards started a postgraduate course at Cardiff University in Medieval French, before becoming a reporter for Swansea Sound and then joining the BBC in 1984.
In 2003, the journalist became the main presenter of BBC News at Ten on BBC One, while still presenting other shows like the Festival of Remembrance and Trooping the Colour. Edwards was in charge of the commentary of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics, and 2014 Commonwealth Games. He also covered the 2008 election of US President Barack Obama.
Recently, Edwards was made to remove a tweet regarding the Welsh flag after a controversy during an interview with the housing minister Robert Jenrick on BBC Breakfast. Presenters Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty said, jokingly, that the British flag that constituted the minister’s backdrop was not quite large enough. Edwards retaliated by posting a picture on Twitter of his face photoshopped onto the Welsh dragon flag, captioning it “Flags are not mandatory – very pleased with my new backdrop for @BBCNews at Ten”.
More recently, Edwards presented around the news of the death of Prince Philip on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC News Channel, and BBC World News.
Mishal Husain
Mishal Husain, born in Northampton to Pakistani parents, is the main Sunday presenter on BBC News at Ten on Sundays and BBC Weekend News – as well as one of the regular presenters on BBC Radio 4’s Today.
She studied in Abu Dhabi until the age of 12 when she returned to England to continue her education at Cobham Hall School, an independent school in Kent. The journalist got her bachelor’s degree at Cambridge and then achieved a Master’s in Comparative Law in Florence, Italy.
Husain started her journalism career by spending three months as a city reporter in Pakistan at the age of 18 in 1991, as well as doing some work experience during her university years. Her first job was at Bloomberg Television in London, as a producer and presenter. Two years later, in 1998, she joined the BBC on the News 24 channel as a junior producer.
She has been a foreign correspondent several times, including in Singapore, Iraq and Washington.
Husain is the author of an autobiographical essay in The Independent in 2010 about her trips to the UAE. In 2011, the reporter directed and made a documentary about the Arab Spring, as well as being part of the BBC’s Olympic Presenting team.
After continuing to work with the BBC and covering events like The Commonwealth Games in 2013, Husain won the Broadcaster of the Year Award at the London Press Club Awards in 2015.
Picture: iStock
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
