BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty will leave the flagship morning show after 17 years to host BBC Radio 5 Live’s breakfast programme.
The broadcaster will take the helm of the radio show five days a week from January 2027, alongside a co-host who is yet to be announced.
Munchetty joined BBC One’s Breakfast as a finance reporter and has been one of the main hosts for the past 12 years.
She currently presents 5 Live’s mid-morning programme on some weekdays.
The news comes as the current 5 Live Breakfast hosts, Rachel Burden and Rick Edwards, announced on Tuesday’s programme that they will step down in December.
Burden will move to present the weekday mid-morning programme, Monday to Wednesday 11-2pm, following 15 years on the station’s breakfast show.
Edwards will present Fighting Talk on Saturday mornings.
Munchetty said: “I’m thrilled to be joining 5 Live Breakfast in January.
“Live news, great conversations, and connecting with audiences are what I love most about broadcasting, and 5 Live does all of that brilliantly.
“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.
“Over the last five years, I’ve been privileged to build a relationship with 5 Live listeners on the mid-morning programme and help shine a light on the issues that matter most to them.
“I’m excited to build on that in the Breakfast slot and to start each day with our listeners every morning.
“Between now and January, I’ll continue presenting the two programmes I love.
“I’m sure there will be plenty of news to cover, and it will very much be business as usual.”
Burden said: “After 15 years hosting 5 Live Breakfast, I’ve decided it’s time for a change – and I’m really excited about launching my new show on the station.
“It’s been an absolute joy and privilege to be part of our listeners’ mornings for all these years.
“We have been through life-changing events together, from the pandemic to huge political moments, and great sporting journeys.
“They are my extended family, and we’ll carry on doing what we do best – telling stories, sharing experiences, and working out the world together.
“Just this time, on a little bit more sleep.”
Her co-host Edwards added: “The annoying part for me is that five years on a breakfast show is a decent stint, but next to Rachel’s 15-year marathon, it does look inconsequential.
“I’ll really miss our wonderful audience, I’ll miss the fantastic team, I’ll miss regularly eating cake before dawn, but most of all I’ll miss Rach – a colleague who has become a friend, and also a mentor, because she’s so much older than me.
“Two things I am of course looking forward to are not waking up at 3.45am, and vaping without fear of violent recrimination.
“I’m so grateful to 5 Live for all the opportunities they’ve afforded me – from going to World Cups in far-flung locations, to vox pops in covered markets in the Greater Manchester area. Who knows what they have in store for me next? That’s not a rhetorical question. Who do I need to speak to?”
Source: Press Association