Victoria Fritz: who is BBC Breakfast presenter, has she replaced Sally Nugent on morning TV show - reaction

The presenter teased fans by posting a picture on Twitter of her ‘Packing for Salford’
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Victoria Fritz has surprised BBC Breakfast viewers by presenting the popular morning show alongside Jon Kay this week. Fritz, who is a morning news presenter for BBC Global News, has occasionally featured on BBC Breakfast to share the latest updates on business and has stood in for Sally Nugent in the past.

The presenter who shared the news she was heading to Salford on social media on Sunday evening (23 October) teased fans by posting a picture of her “Packing for Salford” alongside a suitcase which contained white and black cowboy boots.

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Here’s everything you need to know about who Victoria Fritz is and how long she’ll be presenting BBC Breakfast.

Victoria Fritz is no stranger to the big red sofa (Pic: Victoria Fritz, Twitter @VFritzNews)Victoria Fritz is no stranger to the big red sofa (Pic: Victoria Fritz, Twitter @VFritzNews)
Victoria Fritz is no stranger to the big red sofa (Pic: Victoria Fritz, Twitter @VFritzNews)

Who is Victoria Fritz?

Victoria Fritz is a business correspondent and presenter who works for the BBC. She hosts BBC’s morning global news programmes on BBC One, BBC News and BBC World News.

The 38-year-old studied at the University of Cambridge and began her career in journalism working at Reuters in 2008. Fritz married her husband Dan in 2011, who is a writer and a barrister.

The pair have one child together, a son who was born in 2016. Fritz gave birth three weeks before her due date after going into labour following a live broadcast. Her husband was stuck in traffic, with Nugent having to accompany her to the hospital.

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A BBC spokesperson at the time said: “When Sally heard that she’d gone into labour she offered to be there until Victoria’s husband got there. But her husband never arrived so she found herself at the birth.”

Why is she presenting BBC Breakfast?

Fritz is stepping in to cover for BBC Breakfast presenter Sally Nugent. The BBC Global News host has presented on the red sofa before, previously covering Nugent whilst she was on holiday in August and has also featured on BBC Breakfast in the past giving viewers updates on the latest business news.

What has she said?

On Sunday (23 October) Fritz gave fans a clue that she might be presenting BBC Breakfast this week. On Twitter she shared a photo of her in her socks beside a suitcase that had white and black cowboy boots. The caption reads: “Packing for Salford… see you on @BBCBreakfast on @BBCOne. Me and @jonkay01 might have a bit to chat about”

Fritz then gave fans an update on behind the scenes of presenting BBC Breakfast. She shared a video on Twitter which panned around the big red sofa, covering the table, her scripts, hot pink suit and a cup of coffee. Fritz captioned the video “Holding for fort whilst @jonkay01 keeps Larry The Cat company at Downing Street. Join us. Quite a bit going on, isn’t there?”

Has she changed her name to Victoria Valentine?

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On Wednesday 26 October, the name on her social media accounts changed to Victoria Valentine. The journalist and presenter shared a blog post titled “what’s in a name” in which she explained to fans that after the breakdown of her marriage and “eleven years of Fritz” she was opting to take her Irish mother’s maiden name.

She said: “Here’s the rub. It no longer fits. It doesn’t fit the person that has emerged nor does it truthfully describe the future ahead of me. In the re-casting and the re-crafting, I’ve discovered my name matters. And so I am changing it.”

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