BBC star Mishal Husain quits after 26 years in emotional statement

BBC presenter Mishal Husain has issued an emotional statement as she quits the corporation after 26 years. The 51-year-old has been a presenter on the Radio 4 Today programme for the past 11 years.

She usually hosts The Today Debate and recently fronted the BBC UK general election debates. Husain joined the BBC in 1998 and was previously a presenter on BBC World News.

The journalist will be leaving the corporation next year. Husain said: "My time at the BBC has involved many memorable moments, going to places I would never otherwise have seen, witnessing history and being part of live, national conversation on Radio 4.

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"I will always be grateful for the opportunities the BBC gave me, and wish the organisation and everyone who is part of it the very best." Editor of Today, Owenna Griffiths, said: "Mishal is not only a formidable journalist and first-rate presenter, she is an extremely generous and thoughtful colleague.

"It has been my great privilege to work alongside her and, along with the Today team, I'll miss her enormously but wish her all the very best in her new venture." CEO of BBC News Deborah Turness, also shared her thoughts on Husain's departure, Mirror reports.

She said: "Mishal leaves the BBC with an incredible journalistic legacy. After more than a decade on the Today programme she is going with our gratitude and affection and we wish her the best of luck in her new chapter. I very much hope the BBC and Mishal will get the chance to work together again one day."

Husain will join Bloomberg in early 2025 to host a new interview series. She will become editor-at-large of its Weekend Edition.

In a statement issued by Bloomberg, she said: "I am delighted to be fronting a new interview show that will reach audiences in different formats as part of the exciting plans for Bloomberg Weekend Edition. Ours is an ever more complex world but the desire for thoughtful conversations crosses all borders.

"I look forward to working with a new team at Bloomberg - the place which gave me my first job in journalism." Husain presents the Radio 4 Today show, alongside Emma Barnett, Justin Webb, Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson.

She previously hinted at her exit from the programme in an interview with The Sunday Times in June. She said she was 'thinking about what is beyond Today' and was 'wondering what the next act of my career might look like'.

Husain, who was paid up to £345,000 last year, will remain on air into the new year. The mum-of-three started her BBC career as a producer in 1998, becoming a presenter on BBC World News in 2001 and working both in the studio and on location, from the US to the Middle East, South Asia, Singapore and China.

In 2014 she was the first reporter to enter the school attacked by the Taliban in Peshawar, Pakistan, and in 2017 her engagement interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was viewed around the world.