The Newsroom

BBC News Presenter Count 1967-2020

Presented by Rolling News and mccanmat. With cmthwtv and News96. (May 2020)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
MC
mccanmat
One O’Clock News 1989:
Phillip Hayton 207
Michael Buerk 22
Martyn Lewis 19
John Humphrys 4
Laurie Mayer 1
Nicholas Witchell 1
Andrew Harvey 1
JW
JamesWorldNews
You may see a few familiar names, as well as some... who??? Maybe names you forget started their screen career with BBC News...

News after noon 1983:
Richard Whitmore 199
Frances Coverdale 35
Fern Britton 28
Vivien Creegor 26
Sandi Marshall 23
Heather Payton 22
Noreen Bray 20
Michael Cole 19
Jane Franchi 18
Anne Diamond 17
Judi Lines 17
Judith Stamper 10
Michael Buerk 2

A fairly strange year... Richard Whitmore presented most editions with Michael’s Cole and Buerk covering him and until November a rotation of female co presenters who seem to do a month or so each until Frances Coverdale settles down as co presenter


This was the year when Moira was “promoted” to be the new presenter of the early evening news, which she presented from Monday to Thursday. Jan Leeming did Fridays. Richard Baker had retired by this time.

Originally, the new early evening news was an insert within Sixty Minutes before becoming a short time stand alone bulletin until the new Six O’clock News came along.

When Moira left News After Noon, it was decided that the regional newsrooms would contribute a (female) co-presenter to work alongside Richard in London for either a week, fortnight or a month at a time, depending on circumstances.

So the likes of Vivien Creegor, Jane Franchi and Fern Britton (all journalists by the way, where Moira wasn’t) were supplied by a BBC Region.
JW
JamesWorldNews
* To add, it was quite odd that when she was in the first launch era of News After Noon, Moira was considered as the second presenter. But she would occasionally take the lead presenter role if Richard was away and depending on who the fill-in was (if it was someone senior like Humphrys or Buerk, they would replace Whitmore as lead).

But, Moira would lead if Frances Coverdale was the co-presenter.

After coming back from her stint on the early evening news late in 1984, the roles would reverse in that Frances would be the lead and Moira would be the co-presenter once again.

It was fitting that Moira was there to host (as main presenter, IIRC) the final ever edition of News After Noon. They had Martyn Lewis as a guest in the studio in the run-up to talk about the new show.
SW
Steve Williams
On 23rd Oct two editions were listed, the second At 12:58
by David Dimbleby at Victoria Station and Buckingham Palace


That extended edition to include President Mitterand's state visit to London, fact fans.

When Moira left News After Noon, it was decided that the regional newsrooms would contribute a (female) co-presenter to work alongside Richard in London for either a week, fortnight or a month at a time, depending on circumstances.

So the likes of Vivien Creegor, Jane Franchi and Fern Britton (all journalists by the way, where Moira wasn’t) were supplied by a BBC Region.


And here's Jane Franchi handing over to Heather Payton...



Let's hope they turn her microphone on by Monday. You can see Sandi Marshall during Election 83 making a bit of a hash of the news. Anne Diamond spoke about reading the news once, she'd left Central to join the Beeb and do Nationwide, but it looks like as soon as she arrived they went off that idea cos she didn't do much, so she was seconded to read the news for a month, before moving to TVam.
MC
mccanmat
Onwards we move to the earliest part of the day....

Breakfast Time 1983:
Frank Bough 182
Selina Scott 160
Nick Ross 72
Debbie Rix 60 *
Andrew Harvey 29 *
Fern Britton 22 *
Mike Smith (as presenter not pop reporter) 15
Sue Cook 13
David Coss 7
Guy Michelmore 1

+ mix between being listed as newsreader or presenter
MC
mccanmat
On 23rd Oct two editions were listed, the second At 12:58
by David Dimbleby at Victoria Station and Buckingham Palace


And here’s an Anne Diamond clip.... https://www.tvark.org/?page=media&mediaid=86684

That extended edition to include President Mitterand's state visit to London, fact fans.

When Moira left News After Noon, it was decided that the regional newsrooms would contribute a (female) co-presenter to work alongside Richard in London for either a week, fortnight or a month at a time, depending on circumstances.

So the likes of Vivien Creegor, Jane Franchi and Fern Britton (all journalists by the way, where Moira wasn’t) were supplied by a BBC Region.


And here's Jane Franchi handing over to Heather Payton...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFCzrE7SUis

Let's hope they turn her microphone on by Monday. You can see Sandi Marshall during Election 83 making a bit of a hash of the news. Anne Diamond spoke about reading the news once, she'd left Central to join the Beeb and do Nationwide, but it looks like as soon as she arrived they went off that idea cos she didn't do much, so she was seconded to read the news for a month, before moving to TVam.
SW
Steve Williams
Right back into the 1980s and the part of the day we call lunchtime...
In 1980 Radio Times didn’t list the Midday News presenters Merely the weather forecasters (the time was flexible between 12:30 and 13:20 it seems...)!


Yes, the Midday News was at 12.45 in the winter, before Pebble Mill at One, and at 1.15 in the summer, when Pebble Mill wasn't on, preceding the See-Saw programme. But I think in the summer of 1981 it was on at 1.45, after the See-Saw programme, and I've got a Radio Times where someone writes in to say "If the Midday News is now at 1.45, why is the Nine O'Clock News not at 10.45?".

News After Noon was at 12.30 when Pebble Mill was on between September and May, and one o'clock when it wasn't, presumably to save the bother of closing down between that and the See-Saw programme.
MC
mccanmat
Breakfast Time 1984:
Frank Bough 207
Selina Scott 200
Fern Britton 74
Debbie Rix 51
Mike Smith 39 (as presenter only)
Nick Ross 26
JW
JamesWorldNews
Richard Whitmore eventually found the correct camera in that small clip, above. Mind you, the corner shot with the screen behind was very rarely used for news and only really used for the handover to the weather.

In Scotland, we never got to see that corner screen at all, as we opted out at "five to one". When Moira or the co-presenter would announce the time, Scotland would go directly to BBC HQ in Glasgow for a 5 minute bulletin. I think we had our own weather, albeit from a static slide and read by the duty newsreader at lunchtime, who would be one of the continuity announcers.

Only if there was a slight timing anomaly and we failed to hit the opt on the button would we have seen a brief glimpse of that weather screen in the corner to Richard Whitmore's right. Otherwise, we wouldn't have know it existed.

I recall Sandi Marshall and Heather Payton's stints. Not very smooth at all.

Fern Britton, Anne Diamond, Jane Franchi and Vivien Creegor were all excellent.
SW
Steve Williams
In Scotland, we never got to see that corner screen at all, as we opted out at "five to one". When Moira or the co-presenter would announce the time, Scotland would go directly to BBC HQ in Glasgow for a 5 minute bulletin. I think we had our own weather, albeit from a static slide and read by the duty newsreader at lunchtime, who would be one of the continuity announcers.


Yes, you can see in Genome - specifically in spring 1983 when there was a national edition of the Radio Times for several weeks - where the News After Noon billing refers to "12.55 The Scottish News, 12.57 Regional News/London & SE: Financial Report, news headlines with subtitles". As you suggest, by the end of the bulletin only viewers in the South East were still watching, everyone else had opted out and didn't come back.

Yes, the Midday News was at 12.45 in the winter, before Pebble Mill at One, and at 1.15 in the summer, when Pebble Mill wasn't on, preceding the See-Saw programme. But I think in the summer of 1981 it was on at 1.45, after the See-Saw programme, and I've got a Radio Times where someone writes in to say "If the Midday News is now at 1.45, why is the Nine O'Clock News not at 10.45?".


I messed this up, by the way, a check of Genome reveals it was at 1.15 in the summers of 1977 and 1981, but in the summers of 1978, 1979 and 1980 it was at 1.45.

News After Noon is my earliest memory of TV news, as I used to see the end of it before the See-Saw programme.
MC
mccanmat
Breakfast Time 1985:
Frank Bough 170
Selina Scott 98
Nick Ross 83
Debbie Greenwood 62
Sue Carpenter 62
Debbie Rix 32
Sue Cook 30
Mike Smith 21
Sally Magnusson 18
John Mountford 13
MC
mccanmat
Breakfast Time 1986:
Frank Bough 188
Sue Carpenter 117
Debbie Greenwood 100
Selina Scott 84
Guy Michelmore 50
Nick Ross 44
Sally Magnusson 43
Jeremy Paxman 40
Mike Smith 18
Sue Cook 14

Selina Scott left on 25th July
Mike Smith last appeared 18th April

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