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BBC’s Kirsty Wark to join Radio 4’s Front Row after Newsnight exit

Wark will present editions of the show after she steps down from Newsnight after more than 30 years on Friday

The BBC has announced that presenter Kirsty Wark will become a presenter on the Radio 4 show, Front Row, after leaving Newsnight.

The 69-year-old, who has presented Newsnight for more than 30 years and is its longest-serving presenter, will host her last show on Friday evening.

Ms Wark will anchor her first episode of Front Row – which puts creative industries in the spotlight – on 13 August at Edinburgh Fringe and she will then present one edition of the programme weekly from Glasgow.

From September music journalist Kate Molleson will also join the presenting team for the show in Scotland.

Discussing her new role, Ms Wark said: “I have been so lucky to have been given a true labour of love and I’m looking forward to many conversations and performances right across the artistic spectrum and beyond.

“I have always found that people interested in politics are just as interested in culture and vice versa so I see this new role as an extension of everything that I hold dear.”

Mohit Bakaya, BBC director of speech, said: “We’re delighted that Front Row will come from Glasgow once a week as part of our commitment to creating production opportunities outside of London and investing in audio across the UK.

“Following the success of Saturday Live moving to Wales and Pick of the Week to Northern Ireland, our new network radio production hubs allow us to better reflect, represent and serve all audiences.

“I’m looking forward to hearing Kirsty kick things off live on Front Row from the Edinburgh Festival this August.”

In 2023 the BBC committed to moving 50 episodes of Front Row out of London as part of a commitment to increasing the volume of content made from Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Journalist Victoria Derbyshire shared a photo of her and Ms Wark on X, formerly Twitter, ahead of her Newsnight exit and wrote: “Here she is. The legend that is Kirsty Wark on her last day on Newsnight.”

Ms Wark interviewed many people as a presenter on Newsnight, including Lord Macpherson, following his inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, and in the US she interviewed victims of Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro.

She also reported and presented from Scotland after the 1996 Dunblane massacre, when gunman Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 children and their teacher in the village primary school before turning the gun on himself.

In October last year Ms Wark announced she will step down from Newsnight after the next election but would still continue presenting other BBC programmes including The Reunion and Start the Week on Radio 4.

She said at the time: “When the time comes it will be a massive wrench. However, I’ll be leaving Newsnight but not the BBC. I’ll still be presenting The Reunion and Start the Week on Radio 4, TV documentaries too as well as finishing, finally, my third novel. There are exciting times ahead.”

Additional reporting by Press Association

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