BBC Question Time: Fiona Bruce set to REPLACE David Dimbleby as host of debate show
FIONA BRUCE is set to replace David Dimbleby as host of BBC Question Time and in doing so become the first female presenter in the show’s 40 years on television.
Question Time: David Dimbleby previews the upcoming show
The Antiques Roadshow presenter amazed TV bosses in a series of private auditions earlier this year, according to The Guardian. Mr Dimbleby, 80, announced in June his intention of leaving the show after 24 years. There were many rumours as to who would be replacing him at the helm of the flagship debate show
Ms Bruce, 54, sometimes hosts BBC News at Six and BBC News at 10.
It is thought she will have to give up some of her other presenting roles if she accepts the offer from Question Time.
In September, a shortlist of potential replacements was released and included names like Mishal Husain, Emily Maitlis and Kirsty Wark, but not Ms Bruce.
Other names in the mix were Victoria Derbyshire, Emma Barnett, Kirsty Young and Evan Davis.
READ MORE: BBC Question Time LIVE: Furious Brexit debate over May's EU deal
BBC’s Fiona Bruce presents News at Six from Millbank
The BBC created several pilot shows featuring a live audience and some politicians on the panel, but it was not broadcast to the public.
After announcing his retirement, Mr Dimbleby said: “At the end of the year I will have been chairing Question Time for a quarter of a century and I have decided that this is the right moment to leave.
“It has been a privilege to work for a programme which brings voters face to face with those in power.
“I am grateful to the production teams and to the BBC who have made this possible.
“It has been exhilarating following the twists and turns of British politics from John Major in 1994, through Blair and Brown years to Cameron and May.
“I am not giving up broadcasting. Instead, after years in the studio, I now plan to return to my first love: reporting.”
Mr Dimbleby has also presented programmes like Panorama and chaired debates, most notably the Party Leaders’ debates in the run up to the General Elections since 2010.
He has been the face of General Elections since 1979, presenting the results for the BBC, as well as the coverage for the first referendum in Europe and the 2016 EU Referendum.