Naga Munchetty to leave BBC Breakfast after 17 years

BBC Breakfast co-host Naga Munchetty is leaving the show after 17 years, and will swap the TV sofa for the presenter's chair on Radio 5 Live's breakfast show.

Munchetty joined BBC One's Breakfast as a finance reporter and has been one of the main hosts for the past 12 years.

She currently presents the TV show for three days a week and 5 Live's mid-morning programme for another three days. From January, she will present 5 Live Breakfast five days a week.

"It has been a privilege to be part of the BBC 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 said.

"Presenting a flagship programme on 5 Live is an opportunity that was simply too good to pass up.

"It will take a huge amount of work and require 100% of my focus and energy, and I'm really looking forward to throwing myself into the role."

John McAndrew, the BBC's director of live and daily news, said Munchetty would be "hugely missed by the millions of viewers who've welcomed her into their homes each week".

He added: "I'm very pleased that Naga will be staying with the BBC and I wish her the best of luck at 5 Live."

Her replacement on BBC Breakfast has not yet been announced, while 5 Live Breakfast will get a new co-host to join Munchetty in the radio studio.

5 Live Breakfast's current hosts Rachel Burden and Rick Edwards announced on Tuesday's show that they will be leaving the programme.

Burden, who will move to Munchetty's Monday-to-Wednesday mid-morning slot on 5 Live, 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, who will remain host of weekend sport quiz Fighting Talk, said he would miss "our wonderful audience", the team and Burden - who he described as "a colleague who has become a friend, and also a mentor, because she's so much older than me".

He added: "Two things I am of course looking forward to are not waking up at 3.45am, and vaping without fear of violent recrimination."

Munchetty, 51, is among the best-paid presenters on the BBC's star salaries list, earning about £360,000 a year, according to the latest accounts.

She has interviewed major celebrities and politicians on the programme over the years ranging from Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama to Sir Keir Starmer, Sir David Attenborough and Sir Rod Stewart.

In 2016, she appeared on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.

She has also been at the centre of some controversies during her time on BBC Breakfast.

In 2019, she was initially found to have breached the BBC's guidelines over comments she made about a social media post from Donald Trump about four female politicians of colour.

However, the BBC's director general then reversed that finding after deciding her words were not "sufficient to merit" upholding part of the complaint.

In 2021, Munchetty and co-presenter Charlie Stayt were "spoken to and reminded of their responsibilities" after complaints about their reaction to a government minister's flag. Munchetty apologised for liking "offensive" tweets about the exchange.

In June 2025, the Sun reported details of two alleged incidents which the paper said caused BBC bosses to speak to Munchetty about her conduct.

That came amid reports of behind-the-scenes tensions on the show, and at the same time as the programme's editor Richard Frediani took extended leave following allegations about his behaviour.

The BBC said it did not comment on individual cases but took all complaints about conduct at work extremely seriously.

Munchetty and Frediani did not comment on the reports.