Emma Barnett appointed new presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour

Broadcaster Emma Barnett has been appointed as the new presenter of BBC Radio 4’s iconic Woman’s Hour programme after the show’s two long-serving presenters stepped down in recent months.

Barnett, a BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Newsnight presenter, has hosted Woman’s Hour before, first at the age of 26, and will now replace Jane Garvey and Dame Jenni Murray, who have both decided to leave the long-running 45-minute show.

Airing on Radio 4 at 10am every morning, Woman’s Hour has been a BBC feature since 1946, and Barnett will take the lead from Monday to Thursday, unlike the set-up under Murray and Garvey, who shared presenting duties.

“I can’t wait to get to know the many listeners of Woman’s Hour a lot, lot better,” said Barnett. “I have a long love of Woman’s Hour and live radio and know that this is a very special and rare opportunity.”

Murray said she was stepping down after 33 years in the job this summer, while Garvey announced last week that she was ending her 13 years of hosting, which she described as “a real privilege”. The pair are leaving for different reasons.

Barnett had to contend with antisemitic abuse in 2017 after her Woman’s Hour interview with then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, in which he could not recall the cost of his free child-care election promise.