Emma Barnett joins Newsnight team as Emily Maitlis takes lead role
New all-women team completed by Kirsty Wark, who will present the flagship political show on the BBC
Emily Maitlis and Emma Barnett will form two-thirds of the BBC’s new Newsnight team together with Kirsty Wark, in an all-female presenting line-up.
Maitlis will be the flagship show’s lead presenter, joined by her fellow Jewish journalist, who currently presents the Emma Barnett Show on BBC Five Live on weekday mornings. Wark, a 25-year Newsnight veteran based in Glasgow, takes on an “enhanced” role.
Barnett has won praise since joining the Beeb from the Telegraph, filling in as host on the Andrew Marr Show, and says she “came out as a Jew” live on radio while hosting a phone-in on LBC.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Emma, whose formidable skill as an interviewer and no nonsense approach further strengthens the programme’s agenda-setting impact,” said Newsnight’s new editor Esme Wren.
The new Newsnight team was one of Wren’s top priorities after moving to Broadcasting House last month from Sky News, where she was head of politics and business. She took over from Ian Katz, who is Jewish, after he left early last year to become head of programming at Channel 4.
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