The BBC sacrificed its long search for a political editor who would provide big exclusives in favour of ‘dark horse’ Chris Mason because it regards the Yorkshire-born journalist as a ‘safe pair of hands’ following impartiality rows sparked by his predecessor Laura Kuenssberg, it has been claimed.
Mason, the corporation’s political correspondent and host of Radio 4’s topical debate show Any Questions?, was given the biggest brief in journalism yesterday after bosses threw out their all-female shortlist of largely external candidates.
Reports suggest that the BBC quietly reopened the job ad for political editor specifically with Mason in mind after the 41-year-old Cambridge geography graduate was courted by rival broadcasters including Times Radio. The broadcaster has been suffering from a so-called ‘brain drain’ of talent including Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel in recent months – a characterisation it has dismissed – and will not have wanted to lose yet another top journalist to a competitor.
Mason is believed to have applied for the £260,000 post last week, had the interview on Tuesday, then got the job offer less than 24 hours later.
It is also understood that the BBC had originally wanted to hire a ‘scoop-getter’ after missing out on most of the Partygate stories about illegal lockdown-busting gatherings in Downing Street broken by the Mirror and ITV News. With this in mind, bosses whittled their preferred list of candidates down to ITV News’s Anushka Asthana and Sophy Ridge from Sky News.
However, the BBC has been under immense criticism over its failure to always abide by its commitment to impartiality. With Kuenssberg at the helm, the broadcaster’s critics claimed that its top reporter was biased and essentially ‘in the pocket’ of the Government – a suspicion that only intensified after Dominic Cummings told MPs at his explosive anti-Boris evidence session on Covid last year that Kuenssberg was the former aide’s only regular media contact.
Maitlis also famously triggered a bias row after accusing Cummings of lying when he denied breaking Covid rules by driving from London to Barnard Castle during the first lockdown.
The BBC’s recent history of feisty journalists who tread the line between impartiality and partisanship may have caused bosses to opt for someone ‘safer than sorry’, sources claimed.
One senior political journalist previously told The Sunday Times: ‘They said they wanted someone who breaks stories but I think they’ve realised they actually need a wise statesman who is good at analysing events, and Chris will do brilliantly at that. This feels like a moment of self-realisation for the BBC, that they can’t be that bold.’
The BBC has also come under huge pressure from Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries to promote ‘regional diversity’ within its ranks, amid concerns that it has become too ‘London-centric’ and detached from the often Brexit-voting regions of England and Wales.
PR experts have suggested that BBC bosses therefore probably regard Mason – an ‘adept broadcaster’ with ‘sound judgment’ who has been careful not to air his opinions through his platform at the BBC or via Twitter – as a ‘safe pair of hands’ from outside the ‘Westminster bubble’ who can explain complicated political developments to viewers.
It is thought that Mason’s strong Yorkshire accent will please the Government, which is threatening to scrap the licence fee after 2027 – though one source chuckled: ‘Chris is very solid, plays things very straight and is charming. But he will need a more expensive suit and haircut.’
Reports also say that BBC chiefs are planning to market married father-of-two Mason as the ‘BBC’s Robert Peston’, the well known pundit for ITV.
Others hinted that promoting Mason was a return to pre-Kuenssberg impartiality. In a tweet, Sir Robbie Gibbs, who was the head of the BBC’s political programme output before quitting in July 2017 to become Director of Communications at 10 Downing Street under Theresa May, said: ‘Chris is the perfect ambassador for the BBC – fair, impartial, decent, with bucket-loads of character.’
PR agent Mark Borkowski told MailOnline: ‘I think it would have been hard for the BBC to justify filling the role with a stale pale posh Etonian male, no matter how good Mason is.
‘I think there was probably also a feeling in the BBC that they wouldn’t have wanted to have risked losing more good talent. There’s this “brain drain” going on, and it doesn’t look great for them if they can’t keep onto top notch journalists, like Mason.
Chris Mason, the BBC’s current political correspondent and host of Radio 4’s topical debate show Any Questions?, was promoted to political editor yesterday after bosses threw out their all-female shortlist of largely external candidates
Left, outgoing BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg. Right, ex-No10 director of communications Sir Robbie Gibb
With Kuenssberg at the helm, the broadcaster’s critics claimed that its top reporter was biased and ‘in the pocket’ of the Government – a suspicion that only intensified after Dominic Cummings told MPs at his explosive anti-Boris evidence session into Covid last year that she was the former aide’s only regular media contact
Kuenssberg’s successor Mason is regarded as an ‘adept broadcaster’ with ‘sound judgment’ and ‘a flair for political analysis’
After spending two decades at the BBC, Mason, who is from Grassington in north Yorkshire, has spent most of his career covering Westminster (pictured at an anti-Brexit pro-Europe demonstration)
‘Bias rows’ sparked by feisty journalists Kuenssberg and Maitlis
LAURA KUENSSBERG
Kuenssberg has faced accusations of bias from across the political spectrum.
In 2020, she was criticised after appearing to defend Dominic Cummings following reports that he had flouted lockdown rules.
Within 30 minutes of the story breaking, Kuenssberg had shared a rebuttal from an unnamed source claiming that the then Prime Minister’s senior aide’s 260-mile trip from London to his parents’ home in Durham was ‘within [the] guidelines’.
Laura Kuenssberg will take over as permanent presenter of the BBC’s Sunday morning politics show from September, the broadcaster said
In response to the Daily Mirror journalist who broke the story, Kuenssberg tweeted: ‘Source says his trip was within guidelines as Cummings went to stay with his parents so they could help with childcare while he and his wife were ill – they insist no breach of lockdown’.
Her reply was immediately met by a chorus of condemnation from Labour-supporting trolls, with some accusing her of being a ‘mouthpiece for the Government’ and a ‘Tory stooge’.
Kuenssberg was revealed to be Cummings’s only regular contact, due to the broadcaster’s ‘special position’ in the country.
During his bombshell evidence session to MPs, the former Downing Street aide said the political editor was the ‘main’ journalist he would speak to – but stressed they would only talk once every ‘three or four weeks’ to ‘give guidance on big stories’.
Cummings then made a series of scathing claims about the Prime Minister’s handling of the Covid pandemic – including that Boris Johnson allegedly viewed the virus as a ‘scare story’ just a month before the first lockdown – in a sit-down interview with Kuenssberg.
During the 2019 General Election, Kuenssberg, along with ITV’s political editor Robert Peston, tweeted the false claim that an aide of disgraced ex-minister Matt Hancock was punched by a Labour activist.
The claim was quickly disproved by video evidence, forcing them to back down and apologise for the misleading information.
At the Labour Party conference in 2017, she had to be protected by security guards following abuse she had received for her reporting on Jeremy Corbyn. Critics claimed she was not neutral and treated the former Labour leader unfairly.
Kuenssberg also attracted controversy earlier this year after a complaint was made against her over her use of the phrase ‘nitty gritty’ while discussing Downing Street business on the Brexitcast.
Anti-racism campaigners claim the term originates from the slave trade, and was reportedly banned by Sky Sports last year amid concerns.
However, programme bosses threw out the complaint against Kuenssberg.
EMILY MAITLIS
In February, Maitlis apologised for retweeting a message criticising the ‘sheer tawdry Trumpian shabbiness’ of the Government’s response to the Downing Street parties.
The Newsnight presenter retweeted a post by former Tory Cabinet minister Rory Stewart, in which he said ‘it is difficult to see how much more of this the party or our political system can survive’.
Stewart was responding to a video of an interview in which Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries defended Boris Johnson’s handling of the publication of Sue Gray’s ‘update’.
Emily Maitlis apologised after another apparent breach of the BBC’s impartiality rules
In June, Maitlis was reprimanded by the broadcaster after she shared a post by Piers Morgan on social media which it described as ‘clearly controversial’.
In June 2020, the BBC ruled a monologue by Maitlis on Newsnight about the row over Dominic Cummings’ trip to Durham breached impartiality rules.
In April 2020, Maitlis used Newsnight to hit out at claims that coronavirus is a ‘great leveller’ for society as she said the poorest Britons are less likely to survive the pandemic.
She claimed on BBC Two that those most at risk of catching the infection are in low-paid jobs such as bus drivers, nurses and care home workers.
Matt Kilcoyne of the Adam Smith Institute claimed her comments breached impartiality guidelines, but her speech received widespread praise online.
In September 2019, BBC bosses found against Maitlis after an internal investigation when viewers complained she was ‘sneering and bullying’ towards journalist Rod Liddle during a Brexit debate.
The executive complaints unit at the BBC determined that Maitlis had been too ‘persistent and personal’ during the late night discussion on BBC2 on July 15.
The incident, where she told Liddle to ‘get a grip’ and said his columns contained ‘casual racism’ left her open to claims she had ‘failed to be even-handed’, their report said.
That August, Maitlis said the BBC’s move to uphold a complaint against Naga Munchetty for calling out Donald Trump over racism looked ‘massively out of touch’. She gave her full support to Munchetty, who had condemned the President’s call for four Democratic congresswomen to go back to their own countries.
‘I think certainly the fact that Mason is from Yorkshire will have helped him. The BBC is under immense pressure at the moment to make sure it is reflecting modern Britain, and will want to be able to announce a successor to Kuenssberg who fits in with the Government’s Levelling Up programme.’
In his first tweet since yesterday’s announcement, Mason thanked his wellwishers for their ‘lovely messages’ of support.
Mason’s promotion places him in the ranks of BBC legends including John Simpson, Nick Robinson, Andrew Marr, Robin Oakley, David Holmes, Hardiman Scott and David Holmes.
Kuenssberg was last month announced as the new permanent presenter of the BBC’s Sunday morning politics show, replacing Andrew Marr.
In a statement yesterday, Mason said: ‘What a tremendous privilege to take on what, for me, is the most extraordinary job in British broadcasting and journalism. I clamber upon the shoulders of giants like Laura, Nick and Andrew with a smattering of trepidation and a shedload of excitement and enthusiasm.
‘To lead the best team of journalists in the business on the best news patch of the lot is something I’d never even dared dream of. I can’t wait to get started.’
Kuenssberg tweeted her congratulations, writing: ‘Huge congrats and welcome to the best daily job in the business, to colleague, great friend and of course #newscaster @ChrisMasonBBC’.
The interim director of BBC News, Jonathan Munro, said: ‘Chris has been an exceptional correspondent in an extraordinary time for British politics. His calm, incisive analysis and signature candid style have been invaluable for audiences when navigating complex stories.
‘His ambition and vision for the political editor role is really exciting and I wish him every success in the new post.’
And Beth Rigby, Sky News’s political editor and presenter, tweeted: ‘What a great choice. Huge congratulations @ChrisMasonBBC and welcome to the Pol Ed role – the best and busiest beat in the business. I’m looking forward to seeing a lot more of you Chris!’.
Paul Brand, UK editor for ITV News, also congratulated Mason on his new role. He tweeted: ‘Huge congratulations to one of the best in British broadcasting – Chris will be an absolute asset to the BBC in this role.’
Mason began his journalism career as a trainee at ITN the week after 9/11, before moving to BBC Radio Newcastle one year later. He also then worked for 5 Live, the Regional Political Unit, the Westminster Hour on Radio 4 and in Brussels as a Europe correspondent.
Mason took over as presenter for Radio 4’s Any Questions?, a topical discussion with a panel of people from politics and media who are posed questions by the public, in October 2019, and is regularly on the podcast Newscast.
After spending two decades at the BBC, Mason, who is from Grassington in north Yorkshire, has spent most of his career covering Westminster.
Viewers have previously praised him for his no-nonsense style, and hailed him as ‘refreshing’ when he admitted during a live broadcast for BBC Breakfast in 2018 that he didn’t ‘have the foggiest’ about ongoing Brexit talks – adding: ‘I think you might as well get Mr Blobby back on to offer his analysis, because frankly I suspect his is now as good as mine.’
Then the BBC’s Political Correspondent, Mason said: ‘So, where are we in this Brexit process? You know what? People like me are paid to have insight and foresight and hindsight about these things, and to be able to project where we’re going to go.
‘To be quite honest, looking at things right now, I haven’t got the foggiest idea what is going to happen in the coming weeks. Is the Prime Minister going to get a deal with the EU? Dunno. Is she going to get it through the Commons? Don’t know about that either.
‘I think you might as well get Mr Blobby back on to offer his analysis, because frankly I suspect his is now as good as mine.’
Growing up in the Yorkshire Dales, Mason has previously spoken about how they had a ‘massive influence’ on him, giving him a sense of ‘belonging and identity’.
This year he competed on Celebrity Mastermind where his specialist subject was the Yorkshire Dales, finishing second to comedian Rufus Hound.
He told BBC Radio 4: ‘I still subscribe to the local paper, the Craven Herald and Pioneer. It drops proudly onto my doormat in south east London every week. It’s the perfect thing to kick back with, in the company of a cuppa, when I get home after Any Questions at the weekend.’
Mason has previously said that apart from a ‘brief flirtation’ with wanting to be a bus driver, he ‘only ever wanted to be a reporter’.
Initially the corporation appealed for internal candidates, but then the three BBC front-runners – the deputy political editor, Vicki Young, Mason and former North America editor Sopel – made it clear that they did not want the job.
They then extended the search, whittling down to an all-female shortlist of applicants including ITV News’s Anushka Asthana, the deputy political editor, and Sophy Ridge from Sky.
As well as being deputy political editor of ITV News, Asthana, 41, a former Guardian journalist, stars on its political show, Peston.
The former chief political correspondent at The Times attended £12,600-a-year Manchester High School for Girls before going on to read economics at St John’s College, Cambridge. She spent two years working for Sky News as a political correspondent.
State-educated Ridge went to Tiffin Girls’ School in South West London before getting a degree in English Literature at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. Prior to getting her own show in 2017, she was a Sky News political reporter, during which time she revealed Ed Miliband’s resignation as Labour leader following the General Election in 2015.
Ridge, 38, who has been at Sky News for more than a decade, has recently returned from maternity leave. Sky staff say she would be a ‘huge loss’ if she joined the BBC.
It comes at a difficult time for the BBC, which has been battling a ‘brain drain’ of talent – allegations it has denied – and a war with the Government over its licence fee.
In January, Boris Johnson’s culture secretary Nadine Dorries signalled that the licence fee will be scrapped after 2027. The gung-ho Cabinet minister indicated that she wants to put in place a new funding model for the broadcaster when the current licence fee deal expires in five years’ time.
She hit the corporation with a two-year licence fee freeze and her allies warned ‘the days of state-run television are over’.
Dorries tweeted: ‘This licence fee announcement will be the last. The days of the elderly being threatened with prison sentences and bailiffs knocking on doors, are over. Time now to discuss and debate new ways of funding, supporting and selling great British content.’
Tense negotiations between the Government and the BBC over the cost of the annual fee until the end of 2027 have concluded, with Dorries deciding to hold the licence at £159 for the next two years.
Officials calculate that – due to inflation currently running at 5.1 per cent – the corporation will have to find savings of more than £2billion over the next six years.
However, the Culture Secretary is also considering pegging future fee increases below inflation between 2024 and the end of the current Royal Charter on December 31, 2027 – meaning the savings the BBC must make could end up being even higher.
It was previously suggested said that Kuenssberg, who earned £260,000, could become a presenter on Radio 4’s flagship Today programme as part of a major reshuffle of senior on-air staff. However, it was later confirmed that she will be replacing Marr on his Sunday morning politics show.
Marr presented the last episode of his long-running Sunday politics programme yesterday, leaving the BBC after 21 years to host radio shows on LBC and Classic FM, for rival broadcaster Global.
Commanding a salary of more than £260,000 as political editor, Kuenssberg also found a new audience by appearing on the Brexitcast podcast throughout the UK’s Brexit negotiations with the EU.
However, she has faced accusations of bias from across the political spectrum. Last year, she was criticised after appearing to defend Dominic Cummings following reports that he had flouted lockdown rules.
Mason was tipped to be the favourite following reports that corporation chiefs were unhappy with the all-female shortlist, which included ITV News’s Anushka Asthana and Sophy Ridge from Sky
Speaking with a Yorkshire accent, Mason’s appointment could combat criticisms of the broadcaster for being London-centric and not having enough regional voices
Who had been the female frontrunners to replace Laura Kuenssberg?
Sophy Ridge
Current job: Political correspondent at Sky News and host of its flagship programme Sophy Ridge on Sunday
Profile: Ridge worked as a journalist at News of the World before joining Sky News. Prior to getting her own show in 2017, she was a Sky News political reporter, during which time she revealed Ed Miliband’s resignation as Labour leader following the General Election in 2015.
The 37-year-old has been at Sky News for more than a decade, and has recently returned from maternity leave.
State-educated Sophy Ridge went to Tiffin Girls’ School in South West London before getting a degree in English Literature at St Edmund Hall, Oxford
Anushka Asthana
Current job: ITV News’s deputy political editor
Profile: As well as being deputy political editor of ITV News, Asthana, 41, is a former Guardian journalist, and stars on its political show, Peston.
She is a former chief political correspondent at The Times and spent two years working for Sky News as a political correspondent.
As well as being deputy political editor of ITV News, Asthana, 41, a former Guardian journalist, stars on its political show, Peston
Within 30 minutes of the story breaking, Kuenssberg had shared a rebuttal from an unnamed source claiming that the then Prime Minister’s senior aide’s 260-mile trip from London to his parents’ home in Durham was ‘within [the] guidelines’.
In response to the Daily Mirror journalist who broke the story, Kuenssberg tweeted: ‘Source says his trip was within guidelines as Cummings went to stay with his parents so they could help with childcare while he and his wife were ill – they insist no breach of lockdown’.
Her reply was immediately met by a chorus of condemnation from Labour-supporting trolls, with some accusing her of being a ‘mouthpiece for the Government’ and a ‘Tory stooge’.
Kuenssberg was revealed to be Cummings’s only regular contact, due to the broadcaster’s ‘special position’ in the country.
During his bombshell evidence session to MPs last year, the former Downing Street aide said the political editor was the ‘main’ journalist he would speak to – but stressed they would only talk once every ‘three or four weeks’ to ‘give guidance on big stories’.
Cummings then made a series of scathing claims about the Prime Minister’s handling of the Covid pandemic – including that Johnson allegedly viewed the virus as a ‘scare story’ just a month before the first lockdown – in a sit-down interview with Kuenssberg.
During the 2019 General Election, Kuenssberg, along with ITV’s political editor Robert Peston, tweeted the false claim that an aide of disgraced ex-minister Matt Hancock was punched by a Labour activist.
The claim was quickly disproved by video evidence, forcing them to back down and apologise for the misleading information.
At the Labour Party conference in 2017, she had to be protected by security guards following abuse she had received for her reporting on Jeremy Corbyn. Critics claimed she was not neutral and treated the former Labour leader unfairly.
Kuenssberg also attracted controversy earlier this year after a complaint was made against her over her use of the phrase ‘nitty gritty’ while discussing Downing Street business on the Brexitcast.
Anti-racism campaigners claim the term originates from the slave trade, and was reportedly banned by Sky Sports last year amid concerns.
However, programme bosses threw out the complaint against Kuenssberg.
Prior to becoming the BBC’s politics editor, Kuenssberg served as the corporation’s chief political correspondent. She also previously held senior roles at ITV News and BBC Two’s Newsnight.
In 2016, Kuenssberg was awarded Broadcaster of the Year by the Political Studies Association, recognising her work covering the Brexit Referendum and subsequent follow-up stories.
She was also honoured as the Journalist of the Year at the British Journalism Awards the same year.
Like Kuenssberg, Emily Maitlis has also come under fire for alleged breaches of impartiality. In February, she apologised for retweeting a message criticising the ‘sheer tawdry Trumpian shabbiness’ of the Government’s response to the Downing Street parties.
The Newsnight presenter retweeted a post by former Tory Cabinet minister Rory Stewart, in which he said ‘it is difficult to see how much more of this the party or our political system can survive’.
Stewart was responding to a video of an interview in which Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries defended Boris Johnson’s handling of the publication of Sue Gray’s ‘update’.
In June, Maitlis was reprimanded by the broadcaster after she shared a post by Piers Morgan on social media which it described as ‘clearly controversial’.
In June 2020, the BBC ruled a monologue by Maitlis on Newsnight about the row over Dominic Cummings’ trip to Durham breached impartiality rules.
In April 2020, Maitlis used Newsnight to hit out at claims that coronavirus is a ‘great leveller’ for society as she said the poorest Britons are less likely to survive the pandemic.
She claimed on BBC Two that those most at risk of catching the infection are in low-paid jobs such as bus drivers, nurses and care home workers.
Matt Kilcoyne of the Adam Smith Institute claimed her comments breached impartiality guidelines, but her speech received widespread praise online.
In September 2019, BBC bosses found against Maitlis after an internal investigation when viewers complained she was ‘sneering and bullying’ towards journalist Rod Liddle during a Brexit debate.
The executive complaints unit at the BBC determined that Maitlis had been too ‘persistent and personal’ during the late night discussion on BBC2 on July 15.
The incident, where she told Liddle to ‘get a grip’ and said his columns contained ‘casual racism’ left her open to claims she had ‘failed to be even-handed’, their report said.
That August, Maitlis said the BBC’s move to uphold a complaint against Naga Munchetty for calling out Donald Trump over racism looked ‘massively out of touch’. She gave her full support to Munchetty, who had condemned the President’s call for four Democratic congresswomen to go back to their own countries.
…and where has Kuenssberg ended up?
Kuenssberg is taking over as permanent presenter of the BBC’s Sunday morning politics show from September.
Kuenssberg will start her role when the show relaunches this September with a new set, title, format and title music.
She will take over from Sophie Raworth, who has been presenting the show, currently titled Sunday Morning, since January, following the departure of Andrew Marr.
Kuennsberg’s new role could see the broadcaster land a £76,000 pay rise to bring her in line with Marr who was paid £340,000 before he left to join LBC
The new role could see Kuenssberg paid £340,000 a year – a £76,000 pay rise – to bring her in line with Marr. According to the corporation’s most recent annual report, Kuenssberg earned between £260,000 and £264,999 as political editor.
Interim director of BBC News Jonathan Munro said: ‘Laura’s the perfect host for our flagship weekend politics show – she’s an engaging presenter and a razor-sharp political interviewer, and she knows exactly which questions audiences want answered.’
BBC chief content officer Charlotte Moore added: ‘Laura’s one of the BBC’s biggest talents and I’m delighted she’s becoming the new face of Sunday mornings.
‘I’m very much looking forward to seeing how she makes the show her own.’
Having taken over from Nick Robinson in 2015, Kuenssberg became the first woman to hold the BBC political editor role and covered a feverish period of politics including the Brexit referendum, two general elections and the Covid pandemic.
Having taken over from Nick Robinson in 2015, Kuenssberg became the first woman to hold the BBC political editor role and covered a feverish period of politics including the Brexit referendum, two general elections and the Covid pandemic
‘People come, people go’: BBC dismisses ‘brain drain’ of top talent as Dan Walker joins Emily Maitlis, Andrew Marr, Jon Sopel and Louise Minchin in ditching the broadcaster for its rivals
The BBC has dismissed the ‘brain drain’ of top talent ditching the broadcaster as ‘people come, people go’ after Dan Walker became the latest to join a rival firm.
Insiders said there was always a ‘natural point where people move on’ but there are mounting fears the Corporation will be left with a lack of experienced presenters.
Walker announced he was joining Channel 5 to be lead anchor on its revamped 5News team.
He will walk away from his £295,000-295,999 a year role at the Beeb, with industry experts suggesting he will make around £350,000 in his new job.
The Breakfast presenter follows a string of huge names – including Jon Sopel, Emily Maitlis and Andrew Marr – which has sparked fears of an escalating exodus of talent.
His former Breakfast co-star Louise Minchin also left last year as she looked to spent more quality time with her family.
Walker (pictured outside the BBC in Salford today) announced yesterday he was joining Channel 5 to be lead anchor on its revamped 5News team
Dan Walker is the latest on-air star to ditch the BBC as he announced he was joining Channel 5 News. He is pictured on BBC Breakfast
Walker will be joining Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije (left) and replacing Sian Williams (right)
BBC veterans Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel left the BBC for Global, the owners of LBC, to front a new show and a podcast
A BBC source told MailOnline: ‘People come, people go, but we have lots of existing talent and new and emerging stars and there is always a natural point where people move on.’
Walker revealed on Monday he was leaving the corporation after six years to be lead anchor at 5News.
The 45-year-old said he ‘can’t wait to get stuck into the daily news show’, adding ‘I love their ideas and creativity’.
The journalist shared a video on Twitter announcing the news on Monday afternoon, saying: ‘I have a little bit of news for you.
‘In the next few weeks I’m going to be leaving BBC Breakfast and moving to 5News and to Channel 5.
‘I’m really excited but this has also been a massive decision for me because I love BBC Breakfast. I love working alongside Sally and I love the team there.
‘But Channel 5 came with big ambitions, with big plans and I don’t think opportunities like this come around very often and I can’t wait.
‘I’ve also had the incredible privilege of working on some iconic programmes over the last few years, both at the BBC and elsewhere.
‘What I love about this deal is I not only get to present the news but also host a whole range of new programmes right across the channel.
‘And what an honour to step into the shoes of Sian Williams. I know how popular she is with both the team and the audience.
He said: ‘All I can say is I will do my very best to maintain her incredibly high standards.’
Walker added in a statement: ‘I can’t wait to get stuck into the daily news show, but I am also excited about making some great new TV for Channel 5.
‘I love their ideas and creativity and it’s rare to get an opportunity like this where paths and ambitions meet. The chance to do something different was too good to turn down.’
Outgoing Williams also sent a ‘warm welcome’ to the presenter, but it was posted on Twitter in horrendous quality and the voice of the producer could be heard.
She said: ‘Dan Walker, welcome to your new home. I know what it’s like to move from the BBC Breakfast sofa to the Channel 5 newsroom.’
She added: ‘I absolutely loved it and I think you will too. Have fun and good luck.’
The Breakfast presenter revealed on Monday he was leaving the corporation after six years to be the ITN channel’s lead anchor. He is pictured with Nadiya Bychkova at a fundraiser last month
Walker is married to Sarah, who he met at university and with whom he has three children. He is a practising Christian and does not work on Sundays
Williams will step down from 5News – where she has been since 2016 – but will stay with the channel for other shows.
Walker will be the face of the revamped 5pm current affairs programme alongside Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije.
But he will also have scope to cover non-news programmes for the channel, which he also did for the BBC with shows such as Football Focus.
Media experts estimated he would rake in £350,000 a year, with a ‘golden handshake’ signing on cheque for £50,000.
One told MailOnline: ‘Let’s be honest, Channel 5 are not a channel you go to if you are still climbing your profession are they?
‘I think my TV still has problems tuning into the station.
‘They would have offered him a golden handshake, £50,000 upon signing the contract.
‘£350,000 a year, decent pension contributions. He knows he will be a bigger fish in a smaller pond now – may seem attractive too?’
Walker is the son of a minister and was born in Crawley, Sussex. He is a practising Christian so does not work on Sundays.
He was educated in the town before heading north to Sheffield, where he got a BA in history and MA in journalism from the university.
His news career started at Hallam FM in the Steel City before he moved to Manchester’s Key 103 radio.
But he first dipped his toe in television with Grenada then North West Tonight at the BBC.
He was also able to keep his love of sport alive, covering Football Focus from 2009, as well as multi football tournaments and other sports.
But he became a household name for many when he joined Breakfast in 2016, taking over from Bill Turnbull.
He had co-hosted it with Louise Minchin from Monday to Wednesday until last year when she stepped down.
Walker is married to Sarah, who he met at university and with whom he has three children.
Editor of 5 News Cait FitzSimons said: ‘I’m hugely excited about Dan’s decision to join 5 News.
‘We pride ourselves on the deep connection we have with our viewers across the country, and this is a key strength of Dan’s, helping secure his place as one of Britain’s best and most popular broadcasters.
‘I look forward to working with him to build on the success of our new hour-long programme and finding more ways to tell stories that touch viewers’ lives across the nation.’
Daniel Pearl, Commissioning Editor, Unscripted, at Channel 5, said: ‘We’re delighted that Dan Walker is joining the fantastic team at 5 News, as an anchor he will be instrumental in the success of Channel 5’s News output as it continues to grow and evolve.’
Director of Content for Paramount UK Ben Frow added: ‘Dan Walker joining the Channel shows that Channel 5 attracts leading talent.
‘Dan is a renowned broadcaster and we’re looking forward to seeing him not just fronting 5 News but bringing his experience to programming across Channel 5 as we continue to develop and grow our output.’
It is the latest in the rapid ‘brain drain’ from the BBC as a string of on-air talent has left for its rivals.
Maitlis, Sopel and Marr jumped ship for LBC in a golden handcuffs deal expected to earn them huge pay rises.
The journalists caused disarray at Broadcasting House after deciding to join Global, which is also home to Nick Ferrari, Shelagh Fogarty and James O’Brien.
Maitlis, who hosted Newsnight, had a series of impartiality complaints against her because of her tweets and on-air comments about the pandemic.
Marr is said to have admitted he was prompted to leave the BBC because of his desire to speak freely on major issues, including climate change and politics.
Leading presenters Andrew Neil and Simon McCoy have also left the BBC in the past year.
The deal, for a new show and podcast, is likely to lead to a salary uplift for Sopel and Maitlis, who earn at least £235,000 and £325,000 respectively at the BBC.
An LBC insider told MailOnline Maitlis will now be on ‘at least’ £400,000-a-year, with Mr Sopel likely to be through the £300,000-a-year barrier.
But they warned it ‘could be more’ because of the number of projects they will work on together.
Leaving the BBC will also allow them to pursue more cash from speaking events and private functions worth another £50,000 annually.
Another insider said: ‘I think it’s the potent appeal of money and freedom to be more expressive in their personal views than the BBC allows’.
The deal will see them front a major new podcast for Global Player, as well as hosting a show together on LBC and providing commentary and analysis for lbc.co.uk.
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