BBC Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark leaving show after 30 years
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Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark has announced her intention to leave the BBC programme after the next general election.
Currently the longest-serving member of the on-camera team, Wark revealed her planned exit exactly 30 years to the day since she first hosted the show.
On yesterday's (October 19) episode, she told viewers: "Today I am celebrating 30 years presenting Newsnight.
"It is an enormous privilege to be involved in such a rigorous, creative programme with a wonderful, talented, bunch of colleagues – actually many bunches over the years – led, most recently by Esme Wren followed by Stewart Maclean.
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"There's not a day when I don't look forward to coming to the office, and every day I learn something from the team about all manner of things, from aspects of American foreign policy to how to make a great mojito."
Wark, who has also written two novels and hosted numerous documentaries for the BBC, went on: "Last year I spoke to both to the director general Tim Davie and to Stewart and signalled my desire to end my three-decade run on the show after the next election, and that's the plan.
"When the time comes it will be a massive wrench. However, I'll be leaving Newsnight but not the BBC. I'll still be presenting The Reunion and Start the Week on Radio 4, TV documentaries too as well as finishing, finally, my third novel.
"There are exciting times ahead."
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During her Newsnight tenure, Wark has covered a total of eight Prime Ministers; and reported on location in Scotland following the 1996 Dunblane massacre.
Wark was the only journalist to interview Lord Macpherson following his inquiry into Stephen Lawrence's murder. In 2015, she also interviewed victims of the Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro in the US.
Wark has also previously hosted arts programme Newsnight Review (later known as The Review Show). She has interviewed numerous prominent figures in entertainment, such as the influential writer, director and actor Harold Pinter, during her three decades working on Newsnight.
Her documentaries for the BBC have covered topics including the effect of social media on young women's mental health, stigma around the menopause, the history and future of the NHS, and women's contributions to 20th and 21st-century life in Scotland.
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