BBC News anchor Joanna Gosling has announced that she will be leaving the programme later this month, following reports of a major presenter shake-up. Taking to Twitter on Friday, the newsreader – who has been at the BBC for 23 years – penned an emotional message to fans.
"You may have already heard, but I wanted to confirm, that I have decided to leave the BBC and will go off air on the 26th January," she wrote. "I am very grateful for the kind messages I've had from so many of you. I'm proud of my career in news. Now it is time for new beginnings."
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Sparking a reaction from her 17.2k followers, many were quick to comment on the news, including money-saving expert Martin Lewis, who replied: "Best of luck wherever pastures take you. There is life outside the beeb (my last day as staff there was 31 Dec 1999)."
Joanna Gosling confirmed her departure from BBC News on Twitter
Meanwhile, Joanna's colleague Robert Thompson wrote: "I was so lucky to work with you. Properly ace and a lot of fun too. Good luck. Go well and enjoy the clear air."
Earlier this month, it was reported that as many as 14 presenters could be cut from the schedule as a result of BBC News and BBC World News merging into one channel. According to iNews, the redundancy process has already begun with News presenters being asked to take part in a 40-minute screen test to determine whether they will keep their roles.
The newsreader first joined the BBC in 1999
After confirming her departure from BBC News, on Saturday morning Joanna followed up with another tweet, thanking fans for their support.
"Yet again your response to something I've done is overwhelmingly lovely and I am so grateful. I don't want to respond to some, because it ignores others, and I can't do all because it would clog up your timeline! So this is to say, I'm reading everything and THANK YOU."
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