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The ''BBC News at Six'' is the evening news programme bulletin from the

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BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, the programme is broadcast on the

BBC News channel BBC News (also known as the BBC News Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television news channel for BBC News. It was launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 5:30 pm as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic telev ...

and on British television channel

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

on weekdays at 6:00pm. For a long period, the ''BBC News at Six'' was the most watched news programme in the UK but since 2006 it has been overtaken by the ''

BBC News at Ten ''BBC News at Ten'' formerly known as the ''BBC Ten O'Clock News'' or the ''Ten O'Clock News'' is the flagship evening news programme for the BBC News channel and British television channel BBC One on weekdays and Sundays at 10:00pm. Huw Edwa ...

'' (10:00pm). On average it is watched by four million viewers. The programme is presented by

Fiona Bruce Fiona Elizabeth Bruce (born 25 April 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader, and television presenter. She joined the BBC as a researcher for '' Panorama'' in 1989, and has since become the first female newsreader on the ''BBC News at Ten' ...

George Alagiah George Maxwell Alagiah ( born 22 November 1955) is a British newsreader, journalist and television news presenter. Since 3 December 2007, he has been the presenter of the ''BBC News at Six'' and was previously the main presenter of '' GMT'' o ...

Sophie Raworth Sophie Jane Raworth () (born 15 May 1968) is an English journalist, newsreader and broadcaster working for the BBC. She is a senior newsreader and is one of the main presenters of BBC News (mainly ''BBC News at Six'' and ''BBC News at Ten''). ...

Clive Myrie Clive Myrie (born 25 August 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader and presenter who works for the BBC. Since August 2021 he has been the host of the long-running BBC quiz shows ''Mastermind'' and ''Celebrity Mastermind''. Early life Myrie ...

and

Reeta Chakrabarti Reeta Chakrabarti (born 12 December 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader and correspondent for BBC News. She is known for presenting ''BBC News at One'', ''BBC News at Six'', ''BBC News at Ten'' and ''BBC Weekend News'', and presenting regul ...

Huw Edwards Huw Edwards (; born 18 August 1961) is a Welsh journalist, presenter, and newsreader. Edwards presents ''BBC News at Ten'', the corporation's flagship news broadcast. Edwards also presents BBC coverage of state events, international events, th ...

occasionally appears in the event of a major news story and as a backup presenter for when other hosts are unavailable. In late 2007 the length of the programme was shortened from 30 minutes to 28 minutes to allow for a news summary being shown on BBC One at 7:58pm. On 8 May 2017, SBS in Australia began airing ''BBC News at Six'' during their English-language news programming segment. It is broadcast at 7:00am every day on delay from Britain. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the bulletin was extended to 33 minutes.

History

The programme launched on 3 September 1984, replacing the early evening news magazine ''

Sixty Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique sty ...

'' and was originally presented by Sue Lawley and

Nicholas Witchell Nicholas Newton Henshall Witchell OStJ FRGS (born 23 September 1953) is an English journalist and news presenter. The latter half of his career has been as royal correspondent for BBC News. Early life and career Witchell was born on 23 Septemb ...

. Later ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...

'' presenter

Jeremy Paxman Jeremy Dickson Paxman (born 11 May 1950) is an English broadcaster, journalist, author, and television presenter. Born in Leeds, Paxman was educated at Malvern College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he edited the undergraduate new ...

was relief newsreader from 10 September. Andrew Harvey,

Philip Hayton Philip Hayton (born 2 November 1947) is an English television news presenter, reporter and former international correspondent for BBC News. He worked for the BBC from 1968 until 2005. Early life Hayton was born on 2 November 1947, in the town of ...

, and Frances Coverdale were also regular relief presenters in the early years. In 1988, the ''Six O'Clock News'' studio was invaded during a live broadcast by a female group protesting against Britain's

Section 28 Section 28 or Clause 28While going through Parliament, the amendment was constantly relabelled with a variety of clause numbers as other amendments were added to or deleted from the Bill, but by the final version of the Bill, which received R ...

(a law against the "promotion" of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

in schools). Witchell grappled with the protesters and is said to have sat on one woman, provoking the memorable front-page headline in the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

'', "Beeb man sits on lesbian". Lawley left the ''Six O'Clock News'' later that year, followed by Witchell a year later, although he would return as a relief presenter intermittently until 1999. From 1989, the programme was mainly presented by two of

Peter Sissons Peter George Sissons (17 July 1942 – 1 October 2019) was an English journalist and broadcaster. He was a newscaster for ITN, providing bulletins on ITV and Channel 4, before becoming the presenter of the BBC's ''Question Time'' between 1989 ...

Anna Ford Anna Ford (born 2 October 1943) is an English former journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She first worked as a researcher, news reporter and later newsreader for Granada Television, ITN, and the BBC. Ford helped launch the British ...

, Andrew Harvey and

Moira Stuart Moira Clare Ruby Stuart, (born 2 September 1949) is a British presenter and broadcaster. She was the first female newsreader of Caribbean heritage to appear on British national television, having worked on BBC News since 1981.John Humphrys Desmond John Humphrys (born 17 August 1943) is a Welsh broadcaster. From 1981 to 1987 he was the main presenter for the '' Nine O'Clock News'', the flagship BBC News television programme, and from 1987 until 2019 he presented on the BBC Radio 4 ...

Michael Buerk Michael Duncan Buerk (born 18 February 1946) is a British journalist and newsreader. He presented BBC News from 1973 to 2002 and has been the host of BBC Radio 4's '' The Moral Maze'' since 1990. He was also the presenter of BBC One's docudrama ...

Jill Dando Jill Wendy Dando (9 November 1961 – 26 April 1999) was an English journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She spent most of her career at the BBC and was the corporation's Personality of the Year in 1997. At the time of her death, her ...

, Laurie Mayer,

Mike Smartt Mike Smartt OBE is a British journalist and broadcaster, and was the founder and editor-in-chief of BBC News Online, the BBC's Internet news service. With Project Director Bob Eggington, he led the team that launched the service in 1997, and held ...

and

Chris Lowe Christopher Sean Lowe (born 4 October 1959) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Neil Tennant in 1981. Biography Lowe attended Arnold School, an independen ...

also occasionally presenting. On 13 April 1993, the bulletin was relaunched with a more coherent look that was adopted across all BBC newscasts on the same day. A year later, Sissons departed to present the '' Nine O'Clock News'', swapping positions with

Martyn Lewis Sir Martyn John Dudley Lewis (born 7 April 1945) is a Welsh television news presenter and journalist. He was a presenter for BBC News television programmes between 1986 and 1999 and was known for his involvement in the coverage of the death o ...

. From 1994 to 1999 the programme was generally presented by Lewis as lead presenter of the programme on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, with Ford taking on the lead role on Wednesday and Thursday, although both would cover each other's absences. Stuart was co-presenter on Monday and Tuesday, Harvey on Wednesday and Dando on Thursday and Friday. Other BBC journalists, in particular

Jennie Bond Jennifer Bond (born 19 August 1950) is an English journalist and television presenter. Bond worked for fourteen years as the BBC's royal correspondent. She has most recently hosted ''Cash in the Attic'' and narrated the programme ''Great Briti ...

, covered in the absence of co-presenters, with future lead presenters Huw Edwards and Fiona Bruce making occasional appearances. Senior journalists, including Witchell, Sissons and

John Humphrys Desmond John Humphrys (born 17 August 1943) is a Welsh broadcaster. From 1981 to 1987 he was the main presenter for the '' Nine O'Clock News'', the flagship BBC News television programme, and from 1987 until 2019 he presented on the BBC Radio 4 ...

would present as lead anchor when both Lewis and Ford were unavailable. On 10 May 1999, the bulletin was relaunched again, along with the rest of the BBC News programmes and the new presenter was Huw Edwards with Fiona Bruce as the deputy presenter. During Bruce's maternity leave in 2001,

Sian Williams Sian Mary Williams (; born 28 November 1964) is a Welsh journalist, current affairs presenter best known for her work with the BBC, and psychologist. From 2001 until 2012, Williams regularly presented weekday editions of '' BBC Breakfast'' a ...

, who was special correspondent for the programme at this time, covered as deputy presenter. Both Edwards and Bruce left the ''Six O'Clock News'' on 19 January 2003 to front the Ten O'Clock News. On 20 January 2003, as George Alagiah and Sophie Raworth took over, the bulletin was relaunched along with the rest of BBC One's news bulletins. During Raworth's first maternity leave in 2004, Sian Williams stood in for her for over the six months. However, during Raworth's second maternity leave at the end of 2005,

Natasha Kaplinsky Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky (born 9 September 1972)The Donor, News and information for blood donors, Winter 2009, National Blood Service, England, page 55 is an English newsreader, TV presenter and journalist, best known for her roles as a st ...

stood in, originally as a temporary measure. As part of a presenter reshuffle in April 2006, Kaplinsky was confirmed as the new full-time presenter. Sophie Raworth was later named as the main presenter of the ''

BBC News at One The ''BBC News at One'' is the afternoon/lunchtime news bulletin from the BBC. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel (via British Sign Language) from Monday to Sunday at 1:00pm for 30 minutes, alth ...

''. Raworth is now a regular presenter on the ''News at Six'' and ''BBC News at Ten'', covering for main presenters during their absences. Since April 2005, the programme has formed the first half-hour of the ''Six O'Clock Newshour'' on the BBC News Channel. The second half-hour consists of business and sport updates presented from within the News Channel studio by one of the News Channel presenters. As before, the bulletin still completes at 6:30pm before splitting off to regional news programmes on BBC One. On 5 October 2007 it was announced that Natasha Kaplinsky was leaving the BBC to replace

Kirsty Young Kirsty Jackson Young (born 23 November 1968) is a Scottish television and radio presenter. From 2006 to 2018 she was the main presenter of BBC Radio 4's ''Desert Island Discs''. She presented ''Crimewatch'' on BBC One from 2008 to 2015. Early ...

on ''

5 News ''5 News at 5'', also known as ''Channel 5 News'', is the news programme of British broadcaster Channel 5, produced by ITN from its main newsroom on Gray's Inn Road, London. History ''5 News'' was one of the new station's flagship programme ...

'', taking up her new role on 18 February 2008 presenting two half-hour evening bulletins. She left at the end of the ''Six O'Clock News'' on the same day. For a while Sian Williams filled in as co-presenter, but on 3 December 2007 the programme went single-headed, with George Alagiah as main presenter, and Sian Williams as deputy presenter. A few months into the new arrangement Fiona Bruce took over from Sian as the main Friday presenter. On 28 January 2008, the programme moved studios, from N6 to TC7, as part of a restructuring across BBC News. On 21 April 2008 the programmes, along with the rest of BBC News, underwent a refresh, taking on new titles and a new set. On 17 March 2013, the ''BBC News at Six'' bulletin presented by Sophie Raworth was the final programme to be broadcast from TC7 in BBC Television Centre, after '' BBC Breakfast'' and ''

'' vacated the studio in 2012. The studio was demolished later in 2013 as part of the redevelopment of the site. On 18 March 2013, the programme moved to Broadcasting House, along with the BBC News channel and the other BBC One bulletins, and began broadcasting in high-definition. Alagiah was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014, and took leave from presenting duties. Raworth and Bruce were the main cover presenters during this time, which also saw regular appearances from Reeta Chakrabarti and

Jane Hill Jane Amanda Hill (born 10 June 1969 in Eastbourne, Sussex) is an English newsreader working for the BBC. She is one of the main presenters for BBC News, and is the main presenter on the '' BBC News at One'' and the '' BBC News at Five'', as w ...

. Alagiah returned in late 2015, but saw his cancer return in 2018, and once again took leave to undergo further treatment. Raworth once again covered Alagiah during his absence, with Bruce, Chakrabarti, Hill and Clive Myrie also regularly appearing on the programme. Alagiah returned to his presenting duties in January 2019. After eleven years in the role, in January 2019, Fiona Bruce stepped down as the programme's regular presenter on Fridays in order to replace

David Dimbleby David Dimbleby (born 28 October 1938) is an English journalist and former presenter of current affairs and political programmes, best known for having presented the BBC topical debate programme ''Question Time''. He is the son of broadcaster ...

on ''

Question Time A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...

''. Sophie Raworth serves as the regular presenters on Fridays, with Bruce usually appearing on the programme on a Monday and as a backup relief presenter on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Presenters

Current presenters

is not presenting her usual Friday stint on the programme at the moment until September, due to her taking the role as the interim presenter of the Sunday Morning programme on BBC One. Her cover on the BBC News at Six is being provided by

and

. When they are unavailable,

presents.

Former presenters

If there is no position before the years of being a presenter, then this newsreader was either a relief presenter or occasional guest stand-in presenter. * Sue Lawley (Main co-presenter, 1984–1988) *

(1984–1985) *

(Main co-presenter, 1984–1998) *

(1985–1992) * Frances Coverdale (1986) *

Debbie Thrower Debbie Thrower (born 17 November 1957 in Nairobi, Kenya) is an English journalist and broadcaster who presented BBC national news bulletins in the 1980s and ITV Meridian's flagship news programme ''Meridian Tonight'' (southern edition) from its ...

(1987–1988) * Andrew Harvey (Main co-presenter, 1985–1999) * Laurie Mayer (1988–1993) *

(1988–1994) *

(1989–1999), Main co-presenter 1994–1999 *

(1989–1999) *

(Main co-presenter, 1989–1999) *

(1989–1993) *

(Main co-presenter, 1989–1994) *

Moira Stuart Moira Clare Ruby Stuart, (born 2 September 1949) is a British presenter and broadcaster. She was the first female newsreader of Caribbean heritage to appear on British national television, having worked on BBC News since 1981.Jennie Bond Jennifer Bond (born 19 August 1950) is an English journalist and television presenter. Bond worked for fourteen years as the BBC's royal correspondent. She has most recently hosted ''Cash in the Attic'' and narrated the programme ''Great Briti ...

(1993–1999) *

Edward Stourton (journalist) Edward John Ivo Stourton(born November 1957) is a BBC broadcaster and presenter of the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Sunday'', and a frequent contributor to the ''Today'' programme, where for ten years he was one of the main presenters. He is the au ...

(1993–1999) *

(Main co-presenter, 1994–1999) *

Justin Webb Justin Oliver Webb (born Justin Oliver Prouse, 3 January 1961 in Portsmouth, Hampshire) is a British journalist who has worked for the BBC since 1984. He is a former BBC North America Editor and the main co-presenter of BBC One's '' Breakfast ...

(1995–1999) *

(1996) *

Jon Sopel Jonathan B. Sopel (born 22 May 1959) is a British journalist, television presenter and a former correspondent for BBC News. He was formerly the BBC's North America editor; chief political correspondent for the domestic news channel BBC News; a ...

(1997–2007) * Diana Madill (1997) * Clarence Mitchell (1997–1999) *

(2000–2013) * Darren Jordon (2001–2005) *

Bill Turnbull William Robert Jolyon Turnbull (25 January 1956 – 31 August 2022) was an English television and radio presenter and journalist, whose broadcasting career spanned over four decades. He began his career working for radio stations including Rad ...

(2003–2005) *

Dermot Murnaghan Dermot John Murnaghan (; born 26 December 1957) is a British broadcaster. A presenter for Sky News, he was a news presenter at CNBC Europe, Independent Television News and BBC News. He has presented news programmes in a variety of time slots ...

(2003–2007) *

(Main co-presenter, 2005–2007) * Nicholas Owen (2007–2010) * Ben Brown (2006–2008) * Matt Frei (2008–2009) *

Emily Maitlis Emily Maitlis (born 6 September 1970) is a British journalist, documentary filmmaker, and former newsreader for the BBC. She was the lead anchor until the end of 2021 of ''Newsnight'', the BBC Two news and current affairs programme. Early lif ...

(2009–2015) * Simon McCoy (2019)

Presentation

Unlike the other BBC News bulletins that were broadcast from BBC Television Centre, the ''BBC News at Six'' was broadcast from TC7, which until 2012 housed ''

'', '' Newsround'', ''

The Politics Show ''Politics Show'' is an hour-long BBC One television political programme which was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sundays between 2003 and 2011, broadcasting usually at midday. ''Politics Show'' was superseded by ''Sunday Politics'', a weeke ...

'' and ''

The Andrew Marr Show ''The Andrew Marr Show'' is a Sunday morning talk show presented by Andrew Marr. It was broadcast on BBC One from 2005 to 2021. The programme replaced the long-running '' Breakfast with Frost'' as the network's flagship Sunday talk show when D ...

'', most of which moved to Broadcasting House. The programme would occasionally be broadcast from the BBC News channel studio (N6). Since the move to Broadcasting House the bulletin is broadcast from Studio E, the same studio as the BBC News channel and other national bulletins. The current set design and titles were introduced in March 2013. Within the last few minutes of each bulletin, a full national weather forecast is presented by

Helen Willetts Helen Willetts is a meteorologist on the BBC. She appears regularly on BBC News, BBC World News, BBC Red Button, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 2. Willetts is an occasional weather forecaster on the BBC News at Ten on BBC One. Early ...

, Alina Jenkins, Susan Powell or

Louise Lear Louise Lear (born as Tracy Louise Barden in 1967) is a British television journalist who works as a presenter for BBC Weather. She has appeared on BBC News, BBC World News, BBC Red Button and BBC Radio. She is also a regular forecaster on the '' ...

of the

BBC Weather BBC Weather is the department of the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) responsible for both the preparation and the broadcasting of weather forecasts. On 6 February 2018, BBC Weather changed supplier from the government Met Office to Me ...

centre. The final full national weather forecast on the ''BBC News at Six'', broadcast from Studio TC7, was presented by Nick Miller. In October 2018, due to technical difficulties at the Broadcasting House, Fiona Bruce was forced to present from the Millbank Studios On 26 May 2022, the BBC announced that the BBC News at Six and Ten, along with BBC Breakfast will be revamped in June 2022 to include a completely new studio and presentation, as part of a wider rebrand of the BBC in general. Local regional programmes will also be revamped over the coming months to tie in with the regional BBC channels broadcasting in HD by the beginning of 2023.

Production

The current editor since 2013 is Paul Royall.

Criticism

The bulletin has been accused of being an example of the BBC 'dumbing-down' with more consumer-led reports and dynamic presentation. In particular, in 2006 the then

Leader of the House of Commons The leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons. The leader is generally a member or attendee of the cabinet of t ...

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...

berated the programme's presenters for "prancing around the studio". The BBC defend the format as they believe that the body language and integration of presenter and graphics increase the viewer's understanding of the news. The bulletin has also been accused of having an English perspective on the news in terms of items covered and priority each news item is given. There have been calls in Scotland for a separate ''

Scottish Six Television in Scotland mostly consists of UK-wide broadcasts, with regional variations at different times which are specific to Scotland. The BBC and ITV networks both began broadcasting in the country during the 1950s. There were further expansio ...

'' that would combine Scottish, British and international news items to create a news programme from a Scottish perspective. The idea was rejected by the BBC in 2003 after a series of public meetings and a poll showed that 38% favoured the idea, as opposed to the 45% that wanted no change. However, the SNP have continued to call for the change.SNP re-ignites Scottish Six idea
BBC News, 7 June 2007

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bbc News at Six 1984 British television series debuts 1990s British television series 2000s British television series 2010s British television series 2020s British television series BBC television news shows