BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty will leave the flagship morning show after 17 years to host BBC Radio 5 Live’s breakfast programme.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Munchetty joined BBC One’s Breakfast as a finance reporter and has been one of the main hosts for the past 12 years.<\/p>\n
She currently presents 5 Live’s mid-morning programme on some weekdays.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Burden will move to present the weekday mid-morning programme, Monday to Wednesday 11-2pm, following 15 years on the station’s breakfast show.<\/p>\n
Edwards will present Fighting Talk on Saturday mornings.<\/p>\n
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Munchetty said: “I’m thrilled to be joining 5 Live Breakfast in January.<\/p>\n
“Live news, great conversations, and connecting with audiences are what I love most about broadcasting, and 5 Live does all of that brilliantly.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“Presenting a flagship programme on 5 Live is an opportunity that was simply too good to pass up.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“I’m excited to build on that in the Breakfast slot and to start each day with our listeners every morning.<\/p>\n
“Between now and January, I’ll continue presenting the two programmes I love.<\/p>\n
“I’m sure there will be plenty of news to cover, and it will very much be business as usual.”<\/p>\n
Burden said: “After 15 years hosting 5 Live Breakfast, I’ve decided it’s time for a change \u2013 and I’m really excited about launching my new show on the station.<\/p>\n
“It’s been an absolute joy and privilege to be part of our listeners’ mornings for all these years.<\/p>\n
“We have been through life-changing events together, from the pandemic to huge political moments, and great sporting journeys.<\/p>\n
“They are my extended family, and we’ll carry on doing what we do best \u2013 telling stories, sharing experiences, and working out the world together.<\/p>\n
“Just this time, on a little bit more sleep.”<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
“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 \u2013 a colleague who has become a friend, and also a mentor, because she’s so much older than me.<\/p>\n
“Two things I am of course looking forward to are not waking up at 3.45am, and vaping without fear of violent recrimination.<\/p>\n
“I’m so grateful to 5 Live for all the opportunities they’ve afforded me \u2013 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?”<\/p>\n
Source: Press Association<\/p>\n