South West England & CI Thread

Mark Longhurst no stranger to local news with his stint before Sky on Thames News

What a great appointment. I think he'll suit regional news really well.

Not to forget his stint on South Today too.

Shame Liza is not still there, two ex Sky staff working together

Back in the day when even the weekend anchors were top notch at Sky.

Wonder if he'll end up in the pool for the national news at weekend?

No reason why not. Would be good to see him on ITV News.

I didn't see that one coming! I thought the days of high profile signings to regional news had long gone.

When does Mark start.

Just had to Google the name Mark Longhurst. Never heard of him before, and don't recognise his face either.

If he's been mainly a Sky News person for a long time, that'd be why. The total amount of Sky News I've seen in my entire life would probably be about 10 minutes at best (comprised of many fleeting moments whilst channel hopping)!

If he has never been a West and/or South West regional news presenter before, then people who've always lived in this region (and don't watch Sky News) would be as unfamiliar with him as I am. Hardly "high profile", then!

I'm sure he'll be a perfectly good presenter, but I'll always be a little sad at the loss of Ian Axton's on-screen presence.

I was hoping that Jonty Messer might become the new primary male anchor. I of course have no idea whether he and/or Bob Cruwys had any interest in even applying for the role. They may well both be happy with their current roles, and were only ever going to fill-in during the recruitment process.

I suspect however ITV Westcountry has the bigger audience.

Well seeing as Kylie is nowadays the Saturday presenter, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Mark was to appear at some point.

He's the one that Owen Jones walked out on, because Owen Jones is an attention seeking excuse for a political commentator.