‘UNBELIEVABLE!’: Naga Munchetty and Sally Nugent break silence after bombshell BBC Breakfast exit
The BBC Breakfast star is ending her 17-year tenure on the programme and heading to BBC Radio 5 Live.
Sally Nugent has congratulated Naga Munchetty on her new gig at BBC Radio 5 Live (Image: Getty)
Sally Nugent is showing support for her longtime colleague, Naga Munchetty, as she prepares to leave BBC Breakfast. Following the news that Naga, who joined the programme in 2009, would be ending her 17-year tenure on the sofa, Sally reacted on Instagram.
“Congratulations @tvnaga,” she wrote on her story, referencing Naga’s new gig as a co-presenter on BBC Radio 5’s live breakfast show. She is slated to start her new role in January, while promising “business as usual” in the meantime.
A surprising development and the end of an era, Naga announced that she would be leaving BBC Breakfast while speaking with Radio 5 Live hosts, Rachel Burden and Rick Edwards, both of whom will depart in December.
“It is exciting news, it is exciting news. A change is… they say a change is as good as a rest, don’t they?” Naga said on Tuesday morning.
“And I think Rachel, you put it really well. The audience we serve is brilliant and honest and kind and engaged, and here at 5 Live, I mean, I’ve been at 5 Live for, what, five years? And had the mid-morning show,” Naga continued. “Obviously, as well on BBC Breakfast, and it’s just time for a new challenge, and when things worked out, we kind of heard stuff, I think our controller put her hands together and thought, ‘Right, what can I conjure up?’.
The TV star says it’s time for a new challenge (Image: Getty)
“Both you, Rick, and Rachel, I feel an immense loyalty to our audience and have built an audience and an interest in the mid-mornings that I know Rachel will continue and be brilliant at. I hope to come in, and it’s kind of all change, but not all change, because hopefully, familiar voices, familiar attitude – it will feel very consistent.”
While the identity of Naga’s future co-presenter has yet to be revealed, the TV star hinted that fans would find out in “due time”. Reflecting on her departure from BBC Breakfast, the journalist gushed: “It has been a privilege to be part of the BBC Breakfast TV team for the past 17 years, working alongside an incredibly talented and hard-working group of journalists who are not only outstanding colleagues but also great friends.
“Presenting a flagship programme on 5 Live is an opportunity that was simply too good to pass up. It will take a huge amount of work and require 100% of my focus and energy, and I’m really looking forward to throwing myself into the role.”
