Huws at Ten - but for how much longer?

[PD]

I think of the regular BBC One news presenters, only Clive Myrie has the gravitas that puts him firmly in the Michael Buerk / Peter Sissons line of succession.

When did Michael Buerk leave the Ten? I don't recall much fanfare at the time. Still miss his tap of the pen at the start, and wink at the end, of bulletins!

[Rolling News]

I think of the regular BBC One news presenters, only Clive Myrie has the gravitas that puts him firmly in the Michael Buerk / Peter Sissons line of succession.

When did Michael Buerk leave the Ten? I don't recall much fanfare at the time. Still miss his tap of the pen at the start, and wink at the end, of bulletins!

Sometime in 2002 it was announced he was retiring and Sissons was semi retiring to News 24. Their last regular editions were in January 2003 but made sporadic appearances for about 18 months or so after.

[all new Phil]

All likely contenders are too cheerful and friendly. I want another miserable sod like Sissons.

Clive Myrie ticks all the boxes for me though. His extensive reporting background is worth far more than just being able to read the autocue. He’s probably the only one of the likely candidates that I feel like has been there, done that and seen it all.

[Rolling News]

Sissons used to scare me when I was a little kid - proves how much of a good, authoritative newsreader he was.

[JLav25]

I think of the regular BBC One news presenters, only Clive Myrie has the gravitas that puts him firmly in the Michael Buerk / Peter Sissons line of succession.

When did Michael Buerk leave the Ten? I don't recall much fanfare at the time. Still miss his tap of the pen at the start, and wink at the end, of bulletins!

Sometime in 2002 it was announced he was retiring and Sissons was semi retiring to News 24. Their last regular editions were in January 2003 but made sporadic appearances for about 18 months or so after.

Buerk and Sissons both left in January 2003, in time for the revamp with Huw and Fiona taking over. As Rolling News said, Buerk would make occasional appearances for the next year or so. I think Sissons was around on the 10 a bit longer, well into 2005 at least, and might have been seen as the third presenter after Huw and Fiona, and did weekend bulletins right up until he retired from the BBC.

I agree Clive seems like the natural successor to Huw, but I could see Sophie and Clive becoming joint lead presenters similar to Buerk and Sissons in the 90s. Mishal would be a good choice as well, but I don't see her leaving Today.

[Steve Williams]

With regards to "THE most senior television presenting role" I was referring to being effectively the BBC's chief presenter for national events (elections, royal events etc.) rather than as the BBC's senior newsreader. I'm not sure when he officially succeeded Dimbleby, but I'd say it would be fairly quick to leave the position after just four or five years - especially given a fair few major events on the horizon. Apologies if I wasn't clear.

Well, that's true enough, although Huw has been very prominent for many years even before Dimbleby retired, he did William and Kate's wedding and that was a decade ago now, and the Festival of Remembrance for even longer. It's actually probably a bigger role than anyone's had before, because in the past there were specific departments for news, current affairs and events, and they would all have their own presenters - so you'd never get the main newsreaders anchoring the election because that was a current affairs production, and the events department would have their own hosts for things like VE Day and so on (John Tusa did them in the nineties, long after he'd stopped reading the news, as a freelance, as the Head of Events liked him, even though when he left BBC News he'd really slagged off John Birt). It's only now Huw happily works across all of them.

You can't ever predict when these events are going to come either, Alastair Burnet was at the Beeb for about eighteen months in the seventies and managed to cover two General Elections, a Royal Wedding and the resignation of the US President. Indeed you can well imagine that quite a lot of news presenters and reporters might be feeling a bit burnt out given they've probably had about a decade's worth of news in the last few years. You're always at the mercy of events, I remember Jeremy Vine talking about when he was a Political Correspondent in the mid-nineties and he said it was the best time ever to be in that job because the government appeared to be completely falling apart and there were so many fascinating stories. Less so a few years later when it was all boringly professional.

Buerk and Sissons both left in January 2003, in time for the revamp with Huw and Fiona taking over.

Yeah, it was quite big news, albeit the emphasis was on Huw and Fiona taking over rather than Beurk and Sissons retiring, I remember Roger Mosey being interviewed in the Radio Times and saying that when people moved on, the aim was to replace them with people with the same kind of experience as they had when they started.

Sissons used to scare me when I was a little kid - proves how much of a good, authoritative newsreader he was.

Well, maybe, though it's worth remembering that BBC News was incredibly unpopular with the public in the mid-nineties, when Birtism was at its height. There were loads of surveys which suggested the audience thought BBC News was remote and irrelevant, with unsmiling presenters like Sissons sitting in giant sets with ridiculously over the top graphics and theme tunes, shouting the news like it was carved on tablets of stone. John Stapleton was doing Breakfast Time in the early days of Birt and he's said he hated it, he thought the news agenda was all wrong as they did too many foreign and economic stories that the audience weren't interested in. The Day Today didn't have to exaggerate the self-importance of the news in that era too much.

What they've done since is not dumb down but take lessons from ITN at their pomp, where the news is still taken seriously, but presented with a bit more warmth and made a bit more relevant. It's nice to look back on the virtual set of the mid-nineties and marvel at how clever it looks and how impressive it all is, which it was, but at the time it also seemed incredibly forbidding and pompous, and it put viewers off.

[Robert Williams]

It's nice to look back on the virtual set of the mid-nineties and marvel at how clever it looks and how impressive it all is, which it was, but at the time it also seemed incredibly forbidding and pompous, and it put viewers off.

What really brought that into focus for me was when BBC News 24 began, and the last item on the Sunday early evening news on BBC1 was a report on the launch of the new channel. Cutting straight back from News 24, with its fresh and informal look, to the national news studio gave a stark contrast - the news on BBC1, with its blue set and over-the-top orchestral theme tune, immediately felt cold and old-fashioned in comparison. The May 1999 relaunch, perhaps fell somewhere in between the two - not as informal as News 24 was at launch, but warmer and more accessible than how it had been before.

[Brekkie]

I do think a bit more informality would do the news channel at least the world of good, especially now it is all single anchored. With the studio based in the heart of the newsroom just getting up and venturing into the newsroom on some occasions could bring a bit of life to it.

I don't think much needs to change with the network bulletins though - largely thanks to Huw the Ten manages to both be authoritative and relaxed.

[House]

I must say I would rather keep people like Emily Maitlis, Mishal Husain and Clive Myrie on programmes like Newsnight or Today than BBC1 bulletins. I know there’s more to newsreading than simply sitting there reading an autocue, but the role rarely involves interviewing, location reporting, analysis etc. A lot of the BBC’s ‘key talent’ would be wasted in a role like newsreader of the Ten, even if it is the flagship news programme.

[XIII]

I honestly don't see Emily Maitlis on News on Ten given she's so firmly established on Newsnight and it would be more restrictive in comparion.

[Andrew]

Well, maybe, though it's worth remembering that BBC News was incredibly unpopular with the public in the mid-nineties, when Birtism was at its height. There were loads of surveys which suggested the audience thought BBC News was remote and irrelevant, with unsmiling presenters like Sissons sitting in giant sets with ridiculously over the top graphics and theme tunes, shouting the news like it was carved on tablets of stone. John Stapleton was doing Breakfast Time in the early days of Birt and he's said he hated it, he thought the news agenda was all wrong as they did too many foreign and economic stories that the audience weren't interested in. The Day Today didn't have to exaggerate the self-importance of the news in that era too much.

Edward Stourton doing the One around the same time was another example of that. A very serious presenter.

[itsrobert]

I am having major flashbacks to 1999 with the discussion in this thread. As has been alluded to, I remember rumours circulating of a rebrand and relaunch of BBC News and there was a steady stream of articles describing the negative perceptions of focus groups about BBC News and its presenters. There was a huge clear-out in May 1999 with Martyn Lewis, Jennie Bond, Edward Stourton and others making way for the new presenters like George Alagiah, Huw Edwards, Fiona Bruce and Sian Williams. What with the talk of a potential BBC News rebrand and Huw indicating his time is up on the Ten, it seems to me something fairly big is in the offing now, too.

I really hope that BBC News grasps the nettle and goes all out, but I am fully expecting to be disappointed. It's about time they swept it all aside in favour of a page 1 rewrite. It desperately needs the sort of shake-up we saw in May 1999 - brand new graphics, music, studio sets and a refreshed presenting line-up. I know the usual arguments are trotted out about the BBC News brand being recognisable and I do agree with that to an extent but it does need some pretty radical change now. I bet even David Lowe himself can't believe he's still being paid to churn out music in essentially the same style he devised 22 years ago. Eventually, things need to move on and I think the time is right. Whatever they do, it needs to be radical to grab people's attention again. I couldn't bear another rehash of the same old music, graphics and studio sets.

[Worzel]

I do think a bit more informality would do the news channel at least the world of good, especially now it is all single anchored. With the studio based in the heart of the newsroom just getting up and venturing into the newsroom on some occasions could bring a bit of life to it.

Which has been mentioned many a time on here and has only ever happened occasionally (a couple of times when the NC moved to NBH and once when a group of viewers were taken round the newsroom). I think the reason given for it not happening regularly (pre-pandemic) was that it needs a floor manager/runner and manual camera operator. With a bit of effort it would be possible though.

[steely12]

James Reynolds would be a good fit for BBC News at Ten, I think.

[Rolling News]

James Reynolds would be a good fit for BBC News at Ten, I think.

Surprised he hasn’t made it in to a BBC1 bulletin already, even a Saturday lunchtime update. Although if he’s employed by World he might enjoy it there more.