It has been among the shortest and most tumultuous reigns of any Today presenter.
Now Emma Barnett is set to leave Radio 4 after little more than two years in the hotseat, it was claimed today.
The former Woman’s Hour host is expected to instead present a podcast for BBC Sounds which will leave just three anchors on the flagship news programme – Justin Webb, Nick Robinson and Anna Foster.
Sources claim that confirmation of her departure is expected within weeks and when approached by the Daily Mail, a BBC spokesman did not deny the claims.
Meanwhile, a source at the broadcaster said: ‘Today has a great, fairly new editor, loads of new ideas and vision.
‘There’s always rumour and speculation about Today and its presenters.’
The i Paper reported that Ms Barnett, 41, is ‘excited to move on to her next challenge’ which is expected to be a current affairs podcast and had been in ‘long discussions’ with bosses at the corporation.
She currently hosts her own podcast, Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, which publishes weekly.
Emma Barnett is set to hang up her Radio 4 microphone after little more than two years in the hotseat, it was claimed today
News of Ms Barnett’s rumoured exit from the show comes just days after Amol Rajan hosted his final episode of the programme before he goes off to make his own YouTube show
Ms Barnett hugs Rajan after her first show as presenter of the Today programme in May 2024
Ms Barnett’s tenure at Radio 4 has been blighted by a strained relationship with her co-star Robinson.
Last year she complained to former BBC chief executive Deborah Turness, saying that she found long-serving Robinson to be ‘overbearing’.
Amid her gripes, it was noted that 90 days went by without the pair presenting together.
And on Thursday, Ms Barnett clashed repeatedly with Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch during an interview over her response to Labour’s spending review.
Speculation that the mother-of-two is leaving the show comes just weeks after she returned to the airwaves after undergoing a hysterectomy for endometriosis and adenomyosis.
She has written and spoken openly and passionately about the debilitating pain caused by her endometriosis diagnosis in recent years.
Ms Barnett joined the BBC in 2014 when she worked at Radio 5 Live after hosting a show on LBC for three years before that.
Between 2016 and 2020 she presented 5 Live’s mid-morning weekday programme before moving to Woman’s Hour.
On Thursday, Ms Barnett clashed repeatedly with Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch during an interview over her response to Labour’s spending review
News of Ms Barnett’s rumoured exit from the show, which she joined in May 2024, comes just days after Amol Rajan hosted his final episode of the programme before he goes off to make his own YouTube show, The Amol Rajan Connection, which is expected to launch within just a couple of months.
Last Saturday saw the Today programme’s Saturday edition being fronted by just one presenter, Ms Foster, with a rotating cast of correspondents covering following Rajan’s departure.
A source told the i Paper: ‘There has to be a new full-time presenter now. And it needs to be someone who is going to stick around. Listeners want stability. Amol and Emma were not here very long, compared with past figures.’
The BBC has not yet announced a replacement for Rajan, 43, who is set to star in the second series of The Celebrity Traitors when it hits our screens later this year.
It was previously said an announcement would be made ‘in due course’.
Amongst those tipped to join Today are BBC Europe editor Katya Adler and chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman who filled in over the summer.
Meanwhile, the broadcaster’s political editor Chris Mason is also tipped for a future on the show but bosses may want him to stay in his current position in case Andy Burnham calls an early election.
Ms Barnett was contacted for comment.
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