Naga Munchetty returned to BBC Breakfast after a presenter shake-up saw BBC News presenter and royal correspondent Sarah Campbell stand-in for her.
BBC Breakfast viewers were left surprised after regular presenter Munchetty was missing from Thursday’s show.
The journalist, 50, usually fronts the flagship morning programme alongside Charlie Stayt from Thursday to Saturday.
However Campbell joined Stayt instead, with no on-air mention of Munchetty’s absence or the schedule change.
But Munchetty returned to screens on Friday but made no mention of her absence the previous day as she greeted viewers and delivered the morning headlines.
The shake-up follows several recent weeks where Munchetty has been missing from the lineup, having previously taken time off from the show.
BBC Breakfast typically features a rotating lineup: Jon Kay, 55, and Sally Nugent, 54, lead Monday to Wednesday, while Stayt, 63, and Munchetty anchor the latter half of the week.
Sunday editions are hosted by a number of familiar stand-ins including Roger Johnson, Tina Daheley, Ben Boulos, Ben Thompson and Rachel Burden.
The latest presenting switch-up comes after a busy few months for the long-running show, which has faced several line-up changes and presenter absences.
Last month, it was alleged that Munchetty and Stayt could exit BBC Breakfast after bosses cleared programme editor Richard Frediani of bullying allegations.
The long-running presenters have reportedly been left frustrated after executives backed Frediani, despite a months-long inquiry into complaints over his management style.
The probe, which began in June, examined claims made by staff and counter-complaints directed at the main hosts.
While Frediani will remain in charge of BBC Breakfast and the News at One, both Munchetty and Stayt are said to be “furious” at the outcome and insiders claim a departure would not come as a surprise, according to a new report.
A source told The Sun: “He makes no pretence of the fact that he is old-school and that means some people won’t like his working practices, but they are delivering excellent results and that’s what matters most to him.
"He feels like it has been a witch-hunt and it’s taken its toll but he’s cracking on. Naga and Charlie are furious and feel like the BBC have backed him over them. No one would be surprised if they ended up leaving.”
The Standard previously contacted BBC for comment.
In June, BBC News reported that Frediani, who has been in charge of the morning show since 2019, would take an extended period of leave after claims made about his behaviour.
The news service also said a HR adviser from consultancy firm PwC was supporting the corporation while it looked into the culture of the morning TV show.
It followed reports from The Sun and Deadline on an internal investigation into allegations of bullying.
New reports say a full investigation is not expected to be launched into Frediani, who accepted a Bafta in May when BBC Breakfast: The Post Office Special scooped the news coverage prize at the TV awards.
Two sources have said Frediani has been cleared of bullying allegations, according to US publication Deadline, with another source claiming that work examining the conduct of Munchetty continues.
This comes after The Sun claimed she had been reprimanded by bosses over two alleged incidents, which include an allegation of bullying, in three years.
A BBC spokesperson previously said: “While we do not comment on individual HR matters, we take all complaints about conduct at work extremely seriously.”
