Kirsty Wark steps down: Newsnight presenter to leave show after next election, BBC announces

KIRSTY Wark will step down from Newsnight after the next election, the BBC revealed today.

It will be the end of an era as the newsreader and television presenter has been the face of the show for more than two decades.

She has had a long-standing career at the Beeb - from joining in 1976 as a graduate researcher and becoming one of the most well-known journalists to date. 

The Beeb this afternoon announced the 68-year-old would step down as the head of Newsnight after the next election.

Wark studied history at Edinburgh University, she landed a job as a researcher at BBC Radio Scotland before moving into television in the early 1980s.

She joined Newsnight back in 1993 and has presented Newsnight Review since 2001.

Since 2020, she has presented the BBC Radio 4 series The Reunion and also, on occasion, presents Start The Week on the same station.

In 2021, Wark was one of the main presenters of the BBC's local and mayoral election results coverage.

Over the years the mum-of-two has appeared on many shows - including being a  guest panellist on Have I Got New For You and taking part in  Celebrity MasterChef.

Wark has also appeared in a special series of The Great British Bake Off and the Great British Sewing Bee.