SH0CK: Naga Munchetty all smiles as she returns to BBC Breakfast studio after shock announcement
Naga Munchetty returned to host BBC Breakfast on Thursday after announcing she’s leaving the programme (Image: BBC)
Long-standing BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty is leaving the show she has called home for 17 years.The 51-year-old presenter was back alongside co-host Charlie Stayt on Thursday (July 30) just two days after the bombshell announcement that she will be leaving BBC Breakfast to join Radio 5 Live, where she will co-present the station’s Breakfast show from January.
Munchetty broke the news on Tuesday (July 28) and wasted no time in making clear her excitement about the move, saying: “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.”
The presenter is joining Radio 5 Live in January (Image: BBC)
She also paid a heartfelt tribute to her BBC Breakfast colleagues, adding: “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.”
Munchetty confirmed she will continue presenting BBC Breakfast right up until her January departure, insisting it will be “very much business as usual” in the meantime.
The news prompted her BBC Breakfast colleagues Sally Nugent and Jon Kay to break the story live on air on Tuesday, just moments after Naga had confirmed her exit on 5 Live itself. Jon told viewers: “Our friend and colleague Naga Munchetty has announced that she will be leaving BBC Breakfast to co-present the BBC 5 Live Breakfast Show from January next year.”
Attention has quickly turned to who will fill Naga’s seat on the famous red sofa (Image: Getty)
With Munchetty’s departure now confirmed, attention has quickly turned to who will fill her seat on the famous red sofa. Bookmakers at Betway have already installed Nina Warhurst as the 7/4 favourite to step in alongside Charlie Stayt.
Warhurst is no stranger to BBC Breakfast, having previously stood in as a host on the show before going on to front BBC News at One. She joined BBC Breakfast in 2018 and in October 2020 took over from Steph McGovern as the show’s main business presenter before moving to BBC News at One last year.
Further down the list of contenders, BBC journalists Tina Daheley (4/1) and Emma Vardy (7/1) are both in the running, while current BBC Breakfast presenter Jon Kay is priced at 8/1. Rachel Burden, Ben Thompson and Luxmy Gopal are each listed at 10/1, with Today programme regular Anna Foster at 25/1 and veteran broadcaster Victoria Derbyshire considered an outsider at 40/1.
