As Iran was firing scores of ballistic missiles into Israel and Israel was launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon last autumn, BBC News presenter Anna Foster was calmly anchoring the tense and complicated events for the 10 o’clock news from Beirut without an Autocue.
It was an outing that convinced senior BBC bosses that her experience of the Middle East, as well as the ability to handle the pressure of such a delicate international story, made her the right person to host the corporation’s flagship radio news programme.
Foster will become the fifth member of the presenting team for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, a roster that has been depleted to four permanent members since Mishal Husain’s surprise decision to leave the BBC at the end of last year.
While Foster’s name had not been among those rumoured to be in the running, BBC insiders said that her skill in reporting in the Middle East meant she had been highly rated for some time. This was brought home by her live anchoring from Beirut, which was at the centre of international news after Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime leader of Hezbollah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the city days before.
Foster, a BBC News at One presenter, will begin presenting Today from next month. It means the programme will finally have a complete presenting lineup, alongside Justin Webb, Nick Robinson, Amol Rajan and Emma Barnett.
Many had expected the post to go to the BBC’s Europe editor, Katya Adler. Both she and Sarah Smith, its North American editor, had previously stepped in as Today presenters. Royal correspondent Jonny Dymond and business editor Simon Jack had also presented the show recently, but appointing one of them would have left only one woman on the regular roster.
Some senior BBC figures had also been keen for the corporation to poach a big figure from another broadcaster, with several said to have wanted ITV’s Julie Etchingham to be approached. She moderated the first election debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer and was regarded by many as the real winner from the encounter.
Another figure discussed was Sky’s Sophy Ridge, who was recently announced as presenter of the year at the Royal Television Society awards. John McAndrew, director of programmes for BBC News, knows Ridge’s work from his time at Sky. He has just been given huge power within the corporation, heading up the new BBC Live and Daily News department.
However, a huge premium was placed on Foster’s knowledge of international news and specialism in the Middle East, having previously served as a correspondent in the region. She also honed her radio presenting skills by previously hosting Radio 5 Live’s drive-time show.
Foster’s appointment ends the long-running saga of finding Husain’s replacement. There has been huge frustration within the corporation over the failure to retain Husain, with insiders claiming that more should have been done to keep her. She left to join Bloomberg as editor-at-large and to host a global interview series.
The weekly audience for the Today programme now stands at 5.73 million, according to the latest industry figures. While it has declined significantly since the 7.5 million it reached in 2016 during the aftermath of the EU referendum, its performance is relatively stable. More people are also listening to it later via apps.
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The BBC said television viewers could still expect to see Foster on bulletins as major stories break. Foster said that there were “few more exciting opportunities for a journalist than presenting Today, and I’m thrilled to be joining the team”.
She said: “I’ve always loved making important, agenda-setting, engaging radio, and there’s nowhere better to do that. It’s such a beloved programme to so many people, and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Mohit Bakaya, the controller of Radio 4, said: “Anna is a terrific addition to the Today team. She brings important international reporting experience at a time when it is needed so urgently by listeners to Radio 4. She is a brilliant journalist and skilled presenter, and I can’t wait to hear her, alongside Nick, Amol, Justin and Emma, getting to grips with the important stories on the nation’s biggest speech breakfast programme.”