Abdications

The early announcements of broadcasting royalty departures have become a thing in the modern BBC News.  Yesterday Kirsty Wark announced an intention to leave Newsnight on or before 28 January 2025.  Earlier this month Royal Correspondent Nicholas Witchell said he would retire 'next year'. 

Many have half a suspicion that these announcements seek to distance them from impending cuts within their division, now further delayed by coverage of the Israel/Gaza conflict. 

Kirsty's announcement came on the 30th anniversary of her first Newsnight presentation shift. But of course, her BBC career is longer, joining the BBC in 1976 as a researcher in Scotland. By the early 80s she was on screen as a reporter and occasional presenter on Reporting Scotland. Her move to 'network' came with BBC Breakfast, from 1987 to 1990, where she worked alongside, yes, Nicholas Witchell. But her first presentational 'husbands' were John Stapleton and Jeremy Paxman.  In those days, Breakfast had around half the audience of TV-AM.