BBC News Anchor Exodus: Three Presenters Quit Ahead Of Divisive Channel Merger

11.01.2023 - 17:07 / deadline.com

EXCLUSIVE: Three of the BBC’s most experienced news presenters are quitting the UK broadcaster as it ramps up plans to merge its international and domestic news channels. 

Deadline can reveal that David Eades, Joanna Gosling, and Tim Willcox have taken voluntary redundancy and will leave the BBC after decades of service.

Eades has presented his final show for the corporation, which was coincidentally the final newspaper review on the BBC News channel last week. Gosling is expected to depart at the end of the month, while the timeline for Willcox’s exit is less clear.

The trio have decided against taking part in the recruitment process for a new team of six lead presenters on the new channel, which will combine the UK 24-hour news service and BBC World News.

Around 15 presenters are interviewing for six positions, with all being asked to do screen tests in a small studio away from the main activity of the BBC newsroom. 

Sources have described the process as “humiliating” for those involved, given that many boast decades of experience anchoring rolling news coverage on the BBC.

The studio in which the tests are taking place is not equipped with the technology of more modern studios, meaning presenters are having to operate their own autocue while under scrutiny from BBC managers.

“I think they [Eades, Gosling, and Willcox] could not face the prospect of having to go through this ignominious process,” said one person with knowledge of the matter. A second source said: “People are incandescent. It’s humiliating — you feel like you’re 21 again and applying for your first job on the BBC.” 

A third person said the screen tests will help level the playing field for those involved in the recruitment process and it was important