I’m thrilled to announce the faces of our channel. This team’s editorial leadership, talent, knowledge and flair make them the ideal presenters to bring the BBC’s trusted journalism to people at home in the UK and around the globe, and to guide audiences through the big stories as they break.
Matthew Amroliwala, Christian Fraser, Yalda Hakim, Lucy Hockings, and Maryam Moshiri will be chief presenters on the BBC’s news channel – BBC News – which will be broadcast in the UK and around the world.
Deborah Turness, CEO of BBC News, says: “I’m thrilled to announce the faces of our channel.
“This team’s editorial leadership, talent, knowledge and flair make them the ideal presenters to bring the BBC’s trusted journalism to people at home in the UK and around the globe, and to guide audiences through the big stories as they break.”
BBC News will be broadcast both in the UK and around the world, with advertising outside the UK only. The channel will be anchored from London during UK daytime and evening, and from Washington DC and Singapore overnight.
BBC News will be a single news channel operation which splits into two feeds, so, just as now, at some points of the schedule the UK audience will see dedicated UK output, and at other times all audiences will see the same programming. We will respond to breaking and developing news in the UK for our domestic audiences at all times.
The five chief presenters announced today were recruited via a competitive interview process in accordance with BBC HR procedures.
Advertising will now begin for eight correspondent roles. These will be on-air journalists who will present, as well as report, on the channel.
Recruitment is underway for two on-air presenting roles based in Washington DC, which will be announced shortly.
The channel is due to launch this spring.
Biographies
Matthew Amroliwala
Matthew Amroliwala joined the BBC in 1989 and during his career he has worked as a news reporter, political correspondent and foreign correspondent. He has covered many of the major news stories in the last two decades both at home and abroad.
Matthew has been at the forefront of the BBC's UK political coverage, having covered four general elections and presented all the major set piece events of the Westminster political calendar. Since 2015, Matthew has presented the international programme, Global, anchoring major events in India and elsewhere.
He was nominated by the Television and Radio Industry Club as Reporter of the Year in 1993 for his reporting on the Troubles in Northern Ireland and went on to cover the IRA ceasefire in 1997 and the Good Friday Agreement.
Christian Fraser
After ten years as a foreign correspondent, Christian returned to London to present BBC News.
From Monday to Thursday he anchors the evening show The Context - with Christian Fraser - which airs on both BBC World News and the BBC News Channel. Christian also frequently anchors the flagship current affairs programme Newsnight on BBC2.
Christian has presented BBC Breakfast from Salford, the evening BBC News bulletins on BBC One, and previously co-hosted the extremely successful Beyond 100 Days with Katty Kay.
Yalda Hakim
Yalda Hakim is an award-winning foreign correspondent and currently anchors the flagship programme Impact with Yalda Hakim on BBC World News. In addition to her presenting duties, Yalda continues to deliver hard-hitting journalism in the field, for the Our World strand and across BBC News in both television and radio.
In August 2021, Yalda led BBC World News coverage of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban’s return to power. Just days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Yalda began reporting from the Ukrainian city of Lviv. She provided round the clock coverage for the BBC’s domestic and international audiences for the first weeks of the war – hosting BBC World News and also co-presenting Newsnight.
Yalda has secured a number of high-profile interviews for the BBC. She was the first international journalist to interview US Secretary of State Antony Blinken; her interview with President Trump’s National Security Advisor HR McMaster made global headlines when he accepted that Russia had interfered in the 2016 US elections. Other interviews have included Hollywood actor and director Angelina Jolie, Prince Albert of Monaco, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In addition to her work in Afghanistan and Ukraine, Yalda has spent time producing and reporting content from some of the world’s most dangerous places, including Iraq, South Sudan and Eritrea.
Lucy Hockings
Lucy Hockings has worked for the BBC since 1999, having anchored World News from 2003; and 2019 saw the launch of Lucy’s current affairs programme: Live with Lucy Hockings, bringing audiences live breaking news and events from across the globe and interviews with opinion leaders and influencers.
She has covered many of the major news events of the past decade – from the death of Queen Elizabeth and the Qatar World Cup in 2022 to US Presidential elections and her award-winning coverage of the Australian fires. Over the years, Lucy has interviewed numerous high-profile figures, from presidents and prime ministers to film stars and decision makers. She has anchored major European events on location, bringing rapid reaction and analysis from the very heart of the story. Prior to working at the BBC, Lucy was a reporter in her native New Zealand.
Maryam Moshiri
Maryam has been a presenter on the World News channel for nearly four years, where she has presented many of the flagship programmes, including Outside Source, The Context, Impact, Global, and Newsday, as well as being one of the regular faces on the BBC News channel.
Prior to this, she worked as a business presenter on BBC News for 16 years, presenting flagship business programmes including World Business Report, Talking Business and the Business Briefing. She was also the main face of business on Afternoon Live on the BBC News Channel.
Maryam has presented and reported on some of the biggest stories of the past two decades, from the economic impact of the 9/11 attacks to the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine. She has interviewed some of the world’s top politicians, economists, investors and CEOs.
CM7