BBC legend Mishal Husain has quit the corporation after 26 years, dropping the bombshell in an emotional statement.
The 51-year-old has presented the Radio 4 Today programme for the past 11 years and also hosts The Today Debate, as well as chairing the recent BBC UK general election debates. She was previously a leading face on BBC World News, having first joined the BBC in 1998.
Mishal, who earned up to £345,000 last year, will remain on air into the new year, the Mirror reports. After that the journalist will move to rival media company Bloomberg, where she will front a new interview series as the editor-at-large of Bloomberg Weekend Edition.
After the news broke, the BBC star reflected: "My time at the BBC has involved many memorable moments, going to places I would never otherwise have seen, witnessing history and being part of live, national conversation on Radio 4."
She continued: "I will always be grateful for the opportunities the BBC gave me, and wish the organisation and everyone who is part of it the very best."
The announcement has sent shockwaves through the BBC, provoking tributes from many other leading figures at the corporation.
Editor of Today, Owenna Griffiths, said: "Mishal is not only a formidable journalist and first-rate presenter, she is an extremely generous and thoughtful colleague. It has been my great privilege to work alongside her and, along with the Today team, I'll miss her enormously but wish her all the very best in her new venture."
The CEO of BBC News Deborah Turness, added: "Mishal leaves the BBC with an incredible journalistic legacy. After more than a decade on the Today programme she is going with our gratitude and affection and we wish her the best of luck in her new chapter. I very much hope the BBC and Mishal will get the chance to work together again one day."
Speaking about her new appointment, Mishal explained: “I am delighted to be fronting a new interview show that will reach audiences in different formats as part of the exciting plans for Bloomberg Weekend Edition."
She continued: “Ours is an ever more complex world but the desire for thoughtful conversations crosses all borders. I look forward to working with a new team at Bloomberg – the place which gave me my first job in journalism.”
The broadcasting legend started her BBC career as a producer in 1998 and became a presenter on BBC World News in 2001. This high-profile position saw the presenter deliver stories from across the globe, travelling to destinations including the US, the Middle East, South Asia, Singapore and China.
In 2014 Mishal was the first reporter to enter the school attacked by the Taliban in Pakistan, and in 2017 her engagement interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was viewed by millions around the world.
Although the news of Mishal's departure comes as a shock to many, the journalist has previously hinted at her exit from the BBC. In an interview with The Sunday Times in June, Mishal admitted she was "thinking about what is beyond Today" and was "wondering what the next act of my career might look like."
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