After a rocky few years and major cutbacks, BBC Newsnight is officially turning the page — and it’s bringing in two familiar faces to do it. Paddy O’Connell and Matt Chorley have been announced as permanent presenters, joining Victoria Derbyshire, who continues to lead the show at the top of the week.
Victoria will be holding down Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, while Paddy takes over Thursdays and Matt rounds things off on Fridays. Both have already been popping up on the programme occasionally since Kirsty Wark’s departure in July, and now they’re locked in as regulars, starting this month, reported the Express.
The changes come on the back of a big shift in the programme’s style and structure. Last year, Newsnight was trimmed to 30 minutes and retooled to focus more on interviews and live insights. At the time, the BBC was trying to save £7.5 million, which meant more than half of Newsnight’s team was let go. It was a rough moment — the cuts drew strong criticism from former presenters like Mark Urban and Emily Maitlis — and the show saw its audience almost cut in half.
But fast forward to now, and things are looking up. Since the format revamp in May 2023, viewership has been on the rise across TV, iPlayer, and even social media. With global politics never short of drama (hello, Donald Trump), audiences are once again turning to Newsnight for sharp takes and proper interviews.
Paddy, who’s been a BBC name for years, shared how thrilled he is to join the regular line-up: “Newsnight is the programme I’ve watched since I was eighteen and I’m awed to be joining the team growing the audience with the cracking work of Victoria Derbyshire. Ten thirty pm is now the breaking news hour for the new world order.”
Matt, best known for his political insights and wit, is also buzzing about stepping in more permanently. “I’m so excited to be joining Newsnight, a programme with such an incredible history which has been reinvented by Victoria and the brilliant team in the last year,” he said.
“After spending the week skulking about in Westminster, what better way to spend Friday night than passing on all the gossip and intrigue I’ve picked up.” For a show many had written off, Newsnight’s comeback might just be one of the BBC’s most surprising success stories in recent years.
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