BBC presenter Jo Coburn is stepping down from Politics Live and leaving the broadcaster after 28 years.
Coburn has presented weekday lunchtime politics show Politics Live since its launch in 2018. The news, interview and panel programme airs for 45 minutes four days a week at 12.15pm on BBC Two with a longer programme on Wednesdays to take in Prime Minister’s Questions.
The programme was an evolution of Daily Politics, which first aired in 2003 presented by Andrew Neil and which Coburn joined as a regular presenter in 2011.
She joined the BBC in 1997 first on local radio and as a reporter covering Westminster, and later worked as a political correspondent for Breakfast News reporting on the Today programme, Six and Ten news bulletins and BBC News Channel.
Coburn, who will leave the BBC at the end of May, said: “What a privilege to have been in the hot seat of the Daily Politics and then Politics Live covering the tumultuous events of the last decade or so.
“It’s time to move on and hand over to someone else but I’ve loved it all, especially the people I’ve worked with and the hundreds of guests who’ve kept me company in the studio every day.”
The BBC said a new presenter will be announced “in due course”.
Hilary O’Neill, executive editor politics, said: “Jo has shaped Politics Live into the programme it is today where viewers tune in knowing they’ll be expertly guided through the biggest political stories, whilst making them accessible and entertaining.
“Jo is a forensic interviewer and engaging presenter who draws on her deep knowledge of politics to challenge ministers on the issues that matter most to the public. She will be greatly missed by both the audience and her colleagues.”
Director of news content Richard Burgess described Coburn as “at the heart of political journalism for almost 30 years”.
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