A top BBC star reveals that he is leaving the corporation after 35 years

A top BBC star has revealed that he is leaving the corporation after 35 years. It has even led one fan saying that "Can't bring myself to 'like' that news. My TV licence expires in June, and I don't think I'll be renewing it."

The BBC star, Mark Urban, 63, who was the Diplomatic Editor of the BBC One show, Newsnight, had also been the Middle East Correspondent for BBC News. He said on X that “I’ll be leaving the BBC at the end of May. Newsnight in its current format will end then, so most posts will go. I decided not to apply for other BBC jobs. Working there for 35 yrs has been life defining: an eyewitness to history collaborating with such brilliant colleagues. But it’s time for a change.”

Nigella Lawson was quick to react and said that “It’s our loss,” whilst historian Simon Sebag Montefiore said that “We’ll miss u.”

In November 2023 it was revealed that BBC Newsnight was to be cut to 30 minutes and lose more than half its staff. This came only a month after Kirsty Wark announced that she would be stepping down as the show’s lead presenter after working there for three decades; she will be leaving after the next general election.

Deborah Turness, BBC news and current affairs chief executive said: “Like many businesses, we are in a tough financial climate and as our audience shifts rapidly from TV to online news consumption, we need to make choices about where we allocate our resources.

“While TV and radio remain crucial to BBC News, we must invest in our digital platforms to ensure they are also the home of our very best journalism and today’s package of measures will accelerate this transformation.”