BBC Breakfast

You can't be serious.

I hope they don't mean that somebody apart from Louise should be paired with Bill, and that the person being sought is due to do Mon-Wed (or even Mon-Thurs in Louise's case). Louise, as I've said already, is a perfect fit. I really wouldn't want to see Steph or Sally get it because both excel in business and sport respectively. I'd quite like a return of Kate Silverton (due to give birth in 7 weeks so possibly not) or Emma Crosby to breakfast television.

This statement today in the article opens up all sorts of possibilities.

Speculating here, but possibly Kate Silverton joining after her maternity leave. Doesn't sound realistic, but possible.

Surely it's more likely the case that:

* They've not yet made a decision (and depending on when Susanna Reid's contract, assuming she had one, expired they may not have been able to fill the position until her gardening leave ended.
* Assuming they advertise the position, it could take several more weeks to make a decision (and, considering the status of high-profile presenters, the contract phase might potentially take longer than it would for an ordinary employee, depending on the skill and aim of the agent)
* By the time a replacement is free to begin on the programme (having left their current position and moved to Salford, assuming they wouldn't benefit from Susanna Reid's travel expenses scheme, which was part of the staff relocation package when the programme moved) you're heading into the Summer holidays , where rotas are naturally less consistent, viewership is down and holidays are taken.
* Holding back a bit lets them potentially try out new faces in the interim
* Holding back lets them review their status against ITV , and whether further changes might be needed (better to make them in one go than risk bad press against a new presenter coinciding with declining ratings). If ITV are too successful they may benefit from announcing a new addition, if not then quieter internal cascades would keep consistency.

I also don't see how that excludes Louise from the position - it's entirely possible her role will become permanent, and someone new will cover the latter part of the week. Equally, internal politics/logic could mean Naga can't leave BBC World News until the channel's presenter numbers have increased following several key departures recently, and announcing her new role would risk giving the impression of an even weaker BBC World News before they can report new signings.

I would have thought if Kate had been chosen, they'd simply announce that she was joining later in the year after her maternity leave - there would be little benefit to holding back the decision.

For what it's worth, a couple of less-likely names to throw into the mix: Anita Anand, Victoria Derbyshire (unlikely, but they have tried her out in various TV news roles over the last few years and never found somewhere she really works), Riz Lateef (who has been primarily at BBC London for a very long time now) or one of the lower-profile News Channel staff, like Martine Croxall or Sophie Long (Susanna Reid in particular wasn't that senior on N24 when she first joined Breakfast as a presenter).

But Ellie Crisell? No. No no no no no thank you.

I'd happily see Sophie Long, Martine Croxall or Kate Silverton on Breakfast. Not Ellie Crisell.

I'm not sure if Breakfast should be worried just yet. ITV are certainly putting up more of a fight than they have for years but they are still two quite different programmes that will serve different audiences. The GMB Americanisms I suspect will not be liked by many Breakfast viewers.

Im guessing it won't be Martine Croxall , Sadly - http://twitter.com/MartineBBC/statuses/442074725502976000

My money's on Louise Mon - Wed, Victoria Thurs - Sat.

Who's Victoria?


Personally (and I know it won't happen) I want them to poach either Nina Hossain or Natasha Kaplinsky! Both are wasted over at ITV as they have such small roles (especially Natasha) and both would be great!

Just merely hoping.

I know that Natasha did Breakfast before. I also acknowledged the fact that both are incredibly unlikely to move, but I was saying that I am hoping.

I'm wondering the same...

I had assumed that Louise Minchin would get the gig as a matter of course. I had also assumed the speculation about Rachel Riley being linked to the job was absurd nonsense. BUT she's just stepped down from The Gadget Show for some unexplained reason. I still imagine it's unlikely she'll get the job, but maybe there's more to it than I had thought.

Radio 5 presenter who has also presented Newsnight a few times.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007v5cz

Is it just me…or does Breakast seem a wee tiny bit dated after GMB?