Charlie Stayt is set to lose his Breakfast co-host after Naga Munchetty said it was time for a new challenge and moved to Radio 5 Live Breakfast from January. The switch ends a 17-year run on Breakfast and leaves the programme waiting for a replacement that has not yet been announced.
17 years on Breakfast
Munchetty said, "It has been a privilege to be part of the Breakfast TV team for the past 17 years, working alongside an incredibly talented and hard-working group of journalists who are not only outstanding colleagues but also great friends." She added, "Presenting a flagship programme on 5 Live is an opportunity that was simply too good to pass up."
She has been one of the main hosts on One's Breakfast for the past 12 years, and currently splits her work between the TV show for three days a week and 5 Live's mid-morning programme for another three days. From January, that balance changes sharply: she will present 5 Live Breakfast five days a week.
Rachel Burden and Rick Edwards
The move lands as Rachel Burden and Rick Edwards step away from 5 Live Breakfast after five years together. Burden said, "After 15 years hosting 5 Live Breakfast, I've decided it's time for a change - and I'm really excited about launching my new show on the station." Edwards said he would miss "our wonderful audience," the team and Burden.
He also called Burden "a colleague who has become a friend, and also a mentor, because she's so much older than me," and said, "Two things I am of course looking forward to are not waking up at 3.45am, and vaping without fear of violent recrimination." The outgoing pair's departure clears the way for Munchetty's own move into the breakfast slot.
Breakfast and the January gap
John McAndrew said Munchetty would be "hugely missed by the millions of viewers who've welcomed her into their homes each week" and added, "I'm very pleased that Naga will be staying with the and I wish her the best of luck at 5 Live." That leaves Breakfast with a gap on the sofa, while 5 Live Breakfast will also get a new co-host to join Munchetty in the radio studio.
Munchetty, 51, earns about £360,000 a year according to the latest accounts, which gives the move a business edge as well as a programming one. The immediate question now is simple: who fills the Breakfast chair from January, and who joins her on 5 Live Breakfast.
